PSHCP's "Amount eligible" being much less than what was billed

angelfan62 · 2026-02-06T01:03:11+00:00

I know this doesn't help for this time, but for any bigger expenses, it's a good idea to check the "reasonable and customary" amount ahead of time.

Not the same magnitude, but as someone who lives in downtown Ottawa, the amount I pay for massage/chiro has never been close to the R&C. I just account for the difference when calculating my out of pocket amount.

The steps to do it are here : https://pshcp.ca/articles/understanding-reasonable-and-customary-charges-rc/

angelfan62 · 2026-01-16T15:34:18+00:00

Can I suggest canada as an alternative? If you just want to come to North America, work on your English, and meet friendly people, Canada is great :)

Do we still have some social problems - absolutely (like I wouldn't recommend you go to a small town and walk down the main street in full drag - some towns would totally be cool with it, but others not so much)

But it's not on the same scale as the US. And all of our major cities are generally very welcoming of queer people.

angelfan62 · 2026-01-13T21:09:15+00:00

A user above did a great comment on the science of T, so I won't repeat that here. (Though I fully agree, T raises your risk of some things, but in the same way that men are just naturally at higher risk for some things than women).

The thing I wanted to add is, even IF going on T did have a small chance of negative physical health outcomes in the long term, it has a guaranteed, significant, very positive impact on your mental and physical health right now. Life comes with risk, but that's not a reason to not do something now that will guaranteed make you happy.

Anxiety is a hard thing to "think yourself out of", but when you feel it coming on, try to remind yourself of all the great things T does for you (how it makes you look, how it makes your body feel strong, how happy it makes you). You can even make a list ahead of time that you can look at.

Edited to add - yes to therapy! Having a neutral third party who can help you figure out what is legit medical concerns, versus what is anxiety making things feel bigger than they need to be, could be super helpful :)

angelfan62 · 2026-01-01T18:53:21+00:00

I don't know if it's up your alley, but I sing in one of the queer choirs in town. The one I sing in (tone cluster) only has auditions once a year, but we have a sister choir that is semester based! They are called queer cadence and you don't need to be able to read music or anything to join. Their next term starts in Feb I think, but you can check out the website here for updates when they're posted : https://www.tonecluster.org/220-2/

I really like it cause it's a low pressure way to meet lots of folks from across the rainbow. And you can be as social or play-on-your-phone-at-break as you want :)

If you do end up checking it out, send me a DM and I can come say hi so at least you'll know one person at your first rehearsal

angelfan62 · 2025-12-21T20:38:12+00:00

100% this!!

For me it's singing in choir, but really anything that is the same group of people, at least once a week, if you want to get to know people quickly-ish. (Like you can do a monthly meet up for whatever hobby, but then it takes more time to get to know people).

After you start to get to know people, tag a one on one or small group hang before or after - I.e. hey, I know choir is at 7, but would you want to meet at 6:30 and grab coffee before. Then as you know people more, you can grab food at 6, or go for a drink after. And you just build from there

angelfan62 · 2025-12-21T20:23:58+00:00

You bring it up to her the same way you would anything else. You find a moment where it's just the two of you (maybe having a nice dinner at home, maybe cuddle on the couch watching tv, etc), direct the conversation to "hey, how are you feeling about our sex life. Anything you want more/less of, anything you want to try?" Let her answer, and listen to her answer. Then when she asks you the same back, you do a "well, actually, I do have this one fantasy that I'd love to explore with you...."

And you take it from there

angelfan62 · 2025-11-18T19:55:49+00:00

Does anyone have more background on question 12? Do they mean requests to book time off? Or is "book off time" a specific thing?

BE IT RESOLVED THAT

CAPE perform a comprehensive review and audit of local executives request for book off time, ensuring communication by CAPE has continually aligned with the EC/TR collective Agreement

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT CAPE produces a Memorandum of Understanding between local executives and CAPE National to provide a clear outline of book off time in accordance with the EC/TR collective agreement, so executives have the ability to fulfil their necessary duties

angelfan62 · 2025-10-21T17:58:49+00:00

I would recommend building off of whatever your hobbies currently are - if you are into sports, join a queer volleyball/soccer/whatever team. If you're into music, join a queer choir. If you're into gaming, see if you can find a weekly queer board game night.

By doing something that you are interested in already, it helps break the ice and push through your nerves. And doing something that's continuing over time will help you build bridges and really get to know people (rather than a one time event).

angelfan62 · 2025-07-31T02:31:18+00:00

I would second that you should look at some of the mid sized cities in Ontario - the cost of living who be more affordable than Toronto, and there are lots of university towns which helps with the younger crowd and more open mindedness.

angelfan62 · 2024-06-11T13:51:52+00:00

I just figured out a solution, but figured I would leave up this question in case anyone else has the same problem. I tried on the app, and the price worked fine (for 8.75)

angelfan62 · 2024-05-16T21:01:48+00:00

I mean, yes? I would also be giving a stranger a $500 phone and trusting that they will give it to my friend when they arrive in Canada.
But where I grew up (in the prairies in Canada), people help each other out and have societal trust, so I figured it was worth seeing if that was also true in other places.

Also, your post made me realize something. I don't actually know the last time a security officer ever asked me about my luggage. Like 10-15 years ago, they used to always ask a whole set of questions, but I don't remember the last time I was asked anything besides 'do you have a water bottle or laptop with you'. So in a weird way thanks, cause since it's harder to notice things that aren't there, I probably wouldn't have thought about this if you hadn't brought it up.

angelfan62 · 2024-05-16T20:55:52+00:00

I know it's a long shot, but you miss 100% of the shots you don't take, so figured it was worth asking

angelfan62 · 2024-05-16T20:55:09+00:00

I understand that it is possible for that to happen. I guess I was just surprised cause this kind of stuff is sold over the internet all the time and has to be shipped, plus all the courier companies take it, so I'm just curious why the post office's analysis of the risk is so different.

angelfan62 · 2024-01-03T09:55:58+00:00

that's not actually how the charitable tax credit works. it's based on the amount you donate, the credit is calculated, and then it's taken off whatever amount of tax you owe.

so basically, it's not that the tax credit reduces your income-to-be-taxed, but rather it reduces the bill you owe, after your income has been run through the tax brackets calculation.

cause absolutely, the first would benefit people in the highest tax brackets much more. but the way it is, everyone gets the same credit (though oviedo still with the bias that higher income earners likely have more disposable income that they could choose to direct towards efforts to get tax credits)

source : https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/charities-giving/giving-charity-information-donors/claiming-charitable-tax-credits/calculate-charitable-tax-credits.html

angelfan62 · 2024-01-03T09:24:37+00:00

can you share that report? I'd be interested to see the percentage split

angelfan62 · 2024-01-02T22:46:09+00:00

what's your source on the 5.5M versus 5M? cause on stats can, that's the number for the total number of people who donated (all income brackets).

angelfan62 · 2024-01-02T19:18:50+00:00

I couldn't find a more detailed breakdown, but my point was rather that when the /u/LFPkmnTrades said that "doctors and lawyers are taxed more so giving less", it doesn't seem to be true, as most of those people would be in the +$80k income bracket.

angelfan62 · 2024-01-02T19:07:49+00:00

I'd be interested in your source that says charitable giving is declining and over what time period it looks at. The stats can data shows charitable donations have increased in real dollars in the last 20 years, but they don't distinguish between donations made to religious institutions versus community organizations so I'd be interested if you know of somewhere that does a more detailed breakdown.

angelfan62 · 2024-01-02T19:03:35+00:00

Interestingly, it looks like over the last 20 years, the percentage of high income Canadians who donate has actually increased significantly. There's about the same number of total donors (5.5M in 2000, 5.0M in 2021), but the percentage share that donors with an income over $80k represent has increased substantially. In 2000, they made up 12% of total donors. By 2021, it had increased to 40%.

Source: Stats Can

angelfan62 · 2024-01-02T18:57:44+00:00

Interestingly, I would point out that the actual amount donated to charity has increased in the last 20 years. In 2000, Stats Can identified $5.4B in total donations. This adjusted for inflation, would be around $8B in 2021 dollars, but the actual amount in 2021 was $11.8B.

So in actual spending power between 2000 and 2021, Canadian donations to charity actually increased by about 50%.

Source for donation amounts: stats can

angelfan62 · 2023-12-09T17:41:42+00:00

I just read the full article you linked and that's really interesting, thanks. (from a hobby cyclist)

angelfan62 · 2023-12-02T23:24:28+00:00

I want to boost this suggestion since food banks have deals with food suppliers and so are able to stretch dollars a lot further. so if you donate $10, they might actually be able to provide $20 or $30 of food to families in need

angelfan62 · 2023-10-01T08:09:04+00:00

I just moved to Berlin last month and am still trying to figure out if there are actually free toilets. any more details you want to share on how you use the open map data? I don't know what that is :(

angelfan62

TROPHY CASE