We are in Calgary too. The MPs have a back channel for getting answers a bit faster, but they can't speed up the process. Unfortunately, their back channels are suffering as well. My MPs office (Bob Benzen) told me that of the 4 senior agents that handle immigration enquiries (ALL OF THEM), 2 left, and now they are down to 2 agents until they train 2 more by the end of this month. So while my MP assistant used to get a response within a day or two, now, two Fridays ago she put in a request for a call back, was told she was #91 on the list, and as of last Friday she was #29 on the list, and she is still waiting. So the services seem to suck for everyone right now.
In terms of information they do seem to be able to get a bit more out of them than we can. For example, I couldn't get anyone to confirm our file had made it to Trinidad, but my MPs office was able to confirm that a week and a half ago when she called to request to speak to a senior agent.
I hope that helps explain what they can and can't do. They DO have a back channel, they can't change your trajectory.