My wife’s application delivered on October 16, received the AOR yesterday. She had lived abroad during eligible period. And she selected Yes for the question 9C and attached an explanation letter instead of CIT077 form. So I guess mystery on 9C is revealed now.
By the way, CIC is really fast nowadays, AOR for my application in July had arrived in 40 days.
I guess @spyfy had mentioned in the 1st page that it does not matter whether you select yes or no- as long as you provide an explanation letter clarifying your action. I have mentioned "NO" and would be attaching an explanation letter stating that even though I had lived outside Canada during the eligibility period,I have answered No because I am not claiming residency credit for that period, and hence the "residence outside of Canada" form does not apply for me.