We do not need a job offer for sure for the following:
1- We were issued a support letter to be given an Open Work Permit "OWP", this support letter serves as an exemption from an offer letter in case we were originally applying for a normal Work Permit ....
i.e if your employer has a branch in Canada and he needs to send you there for a 2 year project, his canadian branch will issue you a Job offer and you will need to apply for a work permit from a Canadian embassy. We were given a support letter to apply for the same process and be given a different form of work permit, An open one, so we can go and apply for a job.
2- It was mentione clearly in the application guide that a job offer is not a requirement.
3- No one of the selected 600 candidates submitted a job offer. No one in this forum and no one in any other forum. At least No one I am aware of.
I totally agree with you, I submitted this support letter in my reply to CIC and additionally the operational bulletin received which specifies that I am eligible for an Open work permit.