The assumptions, though not overtly stated were that a) There will be a glut of rebels because entry level buyers won't be buying cameras in big numbers any time soon. and b) The R6 and particularly the R5 will appeal to a demographic that will be in a better position to spend money than the typical Rebel buyer. That is not "a lot of assumptions" and both are very valid in light of the current situation. Also, your assumption that there are no crossover manufacturing dependencies between mirrorless and DSLR suggests you have no clue as to how manufacturing processes work, and there are not "a lot of ways to reduce inventory" when there are no customers. There is also the significant logistical difference that the R5 and R6 are likely assembled in Japan and most Rebels are assembled in Taiwan.That seems like a lot of assumptions. How would the Rebel take a "back seat" to the R5 and R6? From a production standpoint, they are completely different lines and freeing up the production of crop sensor DSLR Rebel production lines would be unlikely to have any impact on the production of mirrorless full frame cameras. Are you suggesting that Canon would delay the T8i because they have a large inventory of other Rebels? That's unlikely. What evidence is there that they have a large inventory of Rebels on hand? Even if they did, there a lot of ways to reduce inventory without delaying a new release.
The "game" over the next six months is going to be getting supply chain and production levels back on track, restoring profitability and hitting (reduced) sales targets. The effects of putting world economies on hold will be felt well into 2021. Canon's bottom line is a lot more dependent on Rebels than on the R series, so I doubt they made this decision lightly.
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