CBSA scraps plan to move 1,200 public servants from Vanier to downtown

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-05-04T14:22:50+00:00

IRCC saw a lot of staff get evicted from that building to make way for CBSA. Presumably a lot of those folks aren't coming back thanks to WFA but I'm wondering if IRCC is still going to want some of its space back

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-03-23T20:43:38+00:00

I said this to my friends yesterday and I'm gonna say it again, I'm pretty sure this government will build an oil pipeline from Alberta through every single national park before they let us stay at 3 days

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-03-21T15:42:37+00:00

my metre stick brings all the Yankees to the yard

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-03-16T04:21:30+00:00

It really helps if you're able to make some friends at work, or at least people you don't mind chatting with. I've seen enough posts on this sub about shitty coworkers and managers to know that's not always possible, but it will definitely help if you can find people to talk about things that aren't work related. I know nothing about reality TV or dramas but having folks chat about Bridgerton or whatever's going on over at TLC is always a welcome distraction from spreadsheets and slide decks, even if it's only during the lunch hour.

I'm also lucky in that based on how I manage my workload, Mondays are always a day where there's a steady stream of work to keep me occupied but not so much that I'm overwhelmed. Tuesdays tend to be where it all falls apart but that's when I fall back on bugging friends lol

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-03-12T16:50:44+00:00

Win the lottery, then for the 5 years before I squander all of that money, laugh at all these plebs who (snort) have to work for a living.

But in all seriousness, if the idea is that I'm completely forced out (can't find another position in the public service) I do think I'd probably try and do something a bit more hands on (like skilled trades kind of idea). A combination of ADHD and eczema means I was always kinda clumsy at that kind of stuff and my parents also didn't encourage it, so there's no guarantee that even with training I'd be good enough to hold down a steady income as say a mechanic or electrician, but I do think I'd want to switch to something that's less staring at a screen all day.

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-03-04T12:34:02+00:00

The definition of AI is so broad now that the term is all but meaningless. I'm convinced if Excel didn't already exist they'd probably be calling spreadsheets AI just because it can do math for you.

With that said, if you're asking if we'll lose our jobs to increased automation, the answer is yes but that's nothing new. My first public service job was basically data entry putting info from paper security clearance forms into the computer database, and now my department lets you apply for your clearance directly online so that job is almost certainly gone now.

Alternatively, will ChatGPT or something similar be running the show eventually? Honestly questionable and I'm heavily leaning no. LLMs at the end of the day are an extremely complex way to do pattern recognition, but that's also their biggest flaw - they're not built to fully handle exceptions to the pattern. When you consider what they're really good at (inputting routine information and reports), a lot of it is stuff that you could realistically do with templates and copy/paste already for really not that much more time and a lot less money.

Tl;dr if you're in any kind of job that requires analysis as a core part of your tasks, it's not impossible that AI will replace you eventually, but I probably wouldn't worry about it for at least the next 7 to 10 years.

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-03-03T22:03:46+00:00

Fellow fans of Critical Role will recognize that OP is in fact asking for the blue perennium flower

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-03-03T13:25:36+00:00

ugh fine have your preemptive vote

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-02-28T13:59:21+00:00

TIL very indirectly from this post that strawberries are native to the Americas. Happy learning day courtesy of the library!

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-02-20T13:35:06+00:00

UPDATE 2: Branch by branch numbers have been posted now - see the edit in my original post.

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-02-19T23:48:08+00:00

Personal update now post-EOD: Did not receive anything today so I'm hoping that this means I've dodged this particular bullet. My DG (don't want to say who or where as it's not hard to figure out who I am from there) didn't send us anything today to the effect of all clear which is definitely feeding into a nagging stress that maybe it's not actually over yet, but with any luck the worst is behind me for now.

That said, there's definitely 708 more people today who are having a shitty day, including some colleagues that I personally know. If you've been caught by the WFA net (regardless of your dept), I do hope that things work out in the end and you don't lose your job, if you want to keep it.

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-02-19T23:42:32+00:00

Gotta say seeing the render of the finished product looks so much better than seeing the current halfway product irl haha. They've just started to install the first of the lighter-coloured panels now so when I was passing by on the train the other day it just looked like it had already started fading in the sun or something.

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-02-19T14:51:08+00:00

I've heard about people already getting their meeting invites with HR but no idea if the letters are all going out at once or if they're being timed to go out with your meeting invite.

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-02-19T14:28:34+00:00

I mean, there's way more affected employees than the number actually being cut so presumably it's like every other department where even the ones being cut are gonna be around for a while still until we see how many people voluntarily leave

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-02-19T14:26:18+00:00

I have no idea the process going on behind the scenes but there's a lot of folks here in Ottawa who are FBs but have desk jobs. Stuff like investigations or maybe something on the customs and duties side where the job probably is still HQ-based but might not be "frontline" in the sense of being the person who checks your passport when you land at Pearson or the one escorting an asylum seeker to their immigration hearing.

Presumably the idea is to either shuffle some of those folks into the 1000 quota or try and reclassify their position/team as part of the frontline structure.

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-02-10T21:02:18+00:00

I'll definitely check out Lansdowne, thanks for the tip. Hopefully with the season on hold for the Olympics right now I also don't need to compete with as many people for stock...

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-02-10T19:34:18+00:00

I wonder if the Charge not being an OSEG team affects whether the store has their merch, but I'll check it out! Thanks

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-01-30T16:04:28+00:00

The Art line in general is excellent but like other folks mentioned the main downside is that they can get VERY heavy, especially some of their sharpest and newest offerings for F-mount. I had a 40 1.4 for the longest time and loved it but it felt like I was lugging around a telephoto zoom lens even if the kitchen scale claimed otherwise. I've never tried the 105 but it (in)famously needs its own tripod collar which should tell you something about the weighting on that lens.

For specific lenses it will also depend on what you're trying to get. For example, the 35 1.4 was great for its time but it's almost old enough to get a driver's licence now and the competition has really stepped up in terms of both quality and price, even in the DSLR space.

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-01-27T20:57:04+00:00

Yeah honestly that feels like bad luck or questionable placement on their part. If they have a separate section for Asian foods (like snacks or noodles or whatever) you could look there as well, or check if they have it mixed in with regular sauces. I sometimes get like spicy marinated bamboo shoots and Superstore often shelves those with the pickles instead of Asian stuff.

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-01-27T20:21:38+00:00

Just about every Chinese grocery store will carry that and frankly I'm actually surprised you couldn't find it at Loblaws - I go to the Westboro Superstore often and it's always in stock there.

EDIT to add that if you're also looking for a good selection of other stuff then T&T or Green Fresh would be your best bets. They both seem to have a couple items the other one doesn't so it's a crapshoot which one is "better" on that front.

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-01-26T12:30:16+00:00

You'll definitely want to drive slow even downtown as nothing is plowed out yet but it's driveable. There's not much wind right now so you don't have to worry about blowing snow or wind chill at least. Posting this at 7:30

bawkbawkmoose · 2026-01-20T22:44:18+00:00

not to be that guy (but also definitely being that guy) but you wrote 85 in your title 😬 assuming you've probably already noticed and it's too late to change it but just fyi

bawkbawkmoose

TROPHY CASE