Entering Canada while Temporary work permit in process

Hello everyone! I could use some help with my situation, so let me first explain what it is:

My boyfriend and I have both gotten job offers from Quebec area, and are waiting for our work visa applications to go through. However, his application has been in for a lot longer so it will go through way before mine. We're currently staying with his family on the other side of the world, and I can't afford to fly back to my home country in Europe so I'd really prefer to fly to Quebec with him.

The HR person of my company doesn't seem very experienced so I don't really trust her word - she was saying I can't enter the country until my visa goes through. So my question is: is it ok for me to go to Quebec while my work visa application is still in process, assuming that I have a return ticket? I'll need to pick up my visa from outside Canada anyway so I could just fly to for example NY. I'm from a country that doesn't need to apply for a tourist visa for Canada so that part's all good.

Hope someone can help, even better if you can link me to an official document about entering Canada while the TWP is in process. Thanks!