Iceburner, welcome to Army.ca, you'l find a lot of helpful information in the forums.
You may want to start with the Recruiting FAQ here: http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/21101/post-77933.html#msg77933
It includes a sections on the recruiting process and the CFRC as well as many other threads to help you start learning about your chosen career path.
How long you will be waiting at each stage of the recruiting process is anyone's guess, as you will see from browsing the threads. Then, depending on your selection of trade, and when the system is loading courses for that trade. Basic Military Qualification (BMQ) courses can be loaded primarily to feed the specific trade courses that are run afterwards in variuous bases to try and minimize the length of time recruits wil be sitting around between courses. Some trade courses are only run once or twice per year.
And yes, staying in touch with your CFRC is certainly advised. Either through telephone calls or visits, make sure you remain aware of what stage your file is at and when the next available information should be expected, and always follow up.