Work Permit - Temporary Processing Time

hi all, looking for advice.

applied nov 3 for temporary work permit for temporary work in March (4 weeks max work, and it has to be March as it is presenting my work at conferences). it says for applicants from my country that it takes an average of 7 weeks.

its now jan 30th with no progress, I am wondering what happens if it isn't approved in time? Will my applicant get bumped a bit since the work is in March?

Ive previously gotten a temporary work permit with approval in 2024 after 4 weeks of waiting, so this is quite alarming it is taking so long. the only difference with my applications is that my first one, i accidentally applied for an eTA first and then a work permit later. do i need an eTA seperately to get the work permit moving? It says I don't need to, but thats the only difference I can see. Would applying for an eTA be a bad idea right now? I am also going to be travelling to Canada in July.

If I show up at the border while my work permit is processing, is that something I can do and finish it there? I cant find any information but I did find I could apply at the port of entry for a work permit.

Thank you all.