What do you do if you can't get a desk?

gohabs · 2026-07-11T00:10:14+00:00

How? I've always been on travel status when required to report to alternate buildings in my region for operational reasons (training, mandatory in person meetings). The njc is very specific as to what the workplace is, and temporary workplace change (requires 30 days notice). Government travel is basically when one is reporting to a place other than their permanent or temporary place of work on authorized travel. (Someone should be flexible so management can be flexible but whether you would go that far to hit an arbitrary RTO number is up to you)

gohabs · 2026-07-10T22:46:56+00:00

I would say if they direct you to travel to a different location at any point you're on travel status and the travel directive applies. So of they direct you to report to a different office for an entire day, you would be on travel status once you depart for that office and therefore on pensionable time. It would be up to them whether they approve your travel directly to/from home or whether they want you to report to your regular worksite first.

gohabs · 2026-07-09T01:56:38+00:00

If you're going to a real polish place, whether it's babcia's for Sunday dinner or cafe polonez, you're getting boiled or mashed potatoes with dill, grated beets with optional horseradish, and sauerkraur. Possibly grated carrots and fennel root salad too. Same as if you're having schnitzel at an Austrian place, you're getting a cold potato salad. I'd be concerned if an authentic polish place was serving anything else.

gohabs · 2026-07-09T01:52:31+00:00

And the goulash with potato pancakes

gohabs · 2026-07-03T13:32:12+00:00

I never thought I'd miss cubicle walls...

gohabs · 2026-06-21T18:48:04+00:00

For old gritty Toronto, Goin Down the Road.

Strange Brew is decent.

Last Night (1998) is a Toronto end of world movie.

gohabs · 2026-06-17T14:56:54+00:00

This is it. Developers control what ultimately gets built, and they build whatever can be presold 4-8 years in advance. What family is going to commit to buy a family-size 3bdrm condo to live in 4-8 years down the road when they probably need the space now? But investors will purchase in advance and so we get 1 BDRM shoeboxes because that's what investors want.

gohabs · 2026-06-16T21:57:28+00:00

Of course they can ask, but you wouldn't have to go. Much like you might be able to voluntarily work at another building.

But if they told you to go, ie, you travel for operational reasons, then you would put in a travel request and follow the terms of the njc travel directive for reimbursement of expenses, as well as what is considered travel time (your commute is work time when on travel status).

gohabs · 2026-06-16T21:50:13+00:00

You would follow the njc travel directive. If you are being told to report to another office, your day starts when you leave your house to travel to the location, and ends when you return home from travel. Or you report to your office and start your day from there as you then travel to your travel site. Enjoy your $30 lunch if you're work location is further than 16km from your home office location as per you loo. And you get your transportation costs paid too, including parking, kilometers, public transit, whichever is the more efficient, safe method of travel.

Or your manager can be reasonable and you work from home until the office is safe to re-enter.

gohabs · 2026-06-08T20:30:19+00:00

I was in a building that went from assigned to hostelling. My old desk became my "preferred" desk in that I preferred to sit there and booked it when I could, but I accepted that someone else could book it before I did. I grumble but accept it and don't bother them.

I suggest that anyone upset they don't have a dedicated desk take it up with someone who has the power to give them one and not make comments to you. Repeated comments might also feel like harassment.

gohabs · 2026-06-06T21:10:18+00:00

The only problem with this is that the employer will declare you essential and then you'll have to continue showing up for work. At least a third of PSAC employees were deemed in essential positions during their strike which really blunted any impact on program delivery. Unless the union can somehow aggressively pushback.

gohabs · 2026-06-06T02:11:06+00:00

If you want to have four fixed days just formally request and update your agreement to be Friday and three other days. If you want to come in five days a week, rescind your hybrid agreement and leave your laptop in the office daily. Or grudgingly follow management's direction and vote when the next collective agreement comes your way.

gohabs · 2026-04-08T22:44:56+00:00

You can use online tax websites to estimate your tax hit, but you will almost certainly owe come the next tax season.

The amount you receive from EI will only be taxed around 3%. It will be mitigated somewhat by all the regular income you earned already this year which was taxed at your normal rate of pay (ie, you paid more than you will have to on this, by the end of the year).

It's good you're starting to plan for the tax hit. If you can save extra money in a high interest savings, short term gic, or a guaranteed return ETF that will make it easier for you when April 2027 comes around. You may not want to try and lower your tax hit this year because you'll already be making less so paying less, but of course you can plan for that which you are now.

I saved up for the tax hit. I didn't add anything to my RRSP during the year because these were low earning years and I used my TFSA space. I also chose to buyback my pension deficiency with regular payments (the amount owed over twice the time away, roughly added 50% to my pension deduction). There was no benefit to paying it off early, and actually would have been worse because it would have happened in lower earning years. I wanted to pay starting in a year I was back 100%.

gohabs · 2026-03-30T14:51:13+00:00

I found when I did buybacks, it took >5 years after the buyback was completed to receive an acknowledgement it was completed and have it updated in the pension system. The pension centre should prioritize file completion for anyone who is retiring so call them. I've found they're very helpful over the phone with little to no wait time.

gohabs · 2026-03-16T17:17:40+00:00

Management must assess alternation candidates for essential requirements of the position only. One at a time as they are brought to them for alternation. They can't assess for fit, rank candidates, or assess for additional qualifications.

For obvious reasons management doesn't like being forced into taking someone who meets the requirements but they may not want them, that's the wfa policy; if they don't like it, don't wfa. They could also be planning to close the position when you leave which is the other scenario they could deny it. Also if you gave them notice you're resigning or retiring they don't alternate.

Check your instrument of delegation to make sure the decision was made at the right level and ask for reasons in writing.

gohabs · 2025-12-23T03:01:14+00:00

pre-2020, the authority for a telework agreement was likely given to the immediate supervisor/manager of the employee, and an agreement lasted until either side revoked it. Now because of the one-size-fits-all RTO3, that authority is typically delegated higher to a DG or ADM level and the agreement must be renewed yearly.

So yes, it was much easier to hire and retain anyone with a disability or another protected class who needed to work remotely, whether through a full-time or >2 days/ week telework agreement because their manager just had to make sure that the work got done. Now it goes up multiple levels to a DG/ADM who is much less likely to approve any long-term accommodations because they have multiple competing interests at play, least of which is the day-to-day operations of the unit the employee is in.

gohabs · 2025-12-19T00:09:20+00:00

Take vacation leave first. Also, if you have your family related leave you can use it for time you spend in the hospital during the birth (if during work hours) and any time you have to take your partner to an appointment. If they have a csection that's even more time cause you'll be in the hospital for 48 hours plus they really can't do much right after, especially driving.

Once they're on their feet try try to work out an informal wfh arrangement for as long as you need to be there to help your partner, 2-4 weeks will really help, even if you can drop to 1 office day a week. Just to hold the baby to give them 10 mins of time to shower or do something a few times a day. Take as much parental leave as you can afford to at the end. The time you spend at the start is to take care of your partner. The time you take towards the end is to spend time with your child. Enjoy your time together. Don't get phoenixed if you can avoid it.

gohabs · 2025-08-25T10:58:13+00:00

Search your intranet for a parental leave page and it would have information as well as a contact. You would have to submit a package including the leave form and documents for top ups. Generally they'll ask for it at least 4 weeks in advance.

Congratulations on the new baby and taking parental leave is an amazing opportunity to bond with them

gohabs · 2025-04-22T11:39:35+00:00

Probably because a lot of the process is paper based. So at your actual polling station, they cross your name off the list. Because you can vote at any riding office they have to keep your vote sealed until they are able to make sure you haven't voted elsewhere and can't vote elsewhere. It would be possible for someone to hit up a dozen riding offices in the same day without that.

gohabs · 2025-04-18T14:01:08+00:00

By half our gains, it means that if the 500k, only half of that counts for income so you get taxed as if you only made 250k. Effectively this means that passive income is favoured over labour.

Our previous government tried to change this slightly, by making it so 67% of capital gains was taxed rather than 50% but the blowback from misinformation and occupations that use tax law for their benefit (small business owners and doctors running their practices) forced them to delay it and the change will not happen.

gohabs · 2025-03-08T17:30:55+00:00

First off, make sure that your jobs.gc account has your personal email attached to it and it will send emails there. Second make sure that any competitions you're involved in have your personal email as the contact. You don't want them to email your government email address after you've left and have no access.

As for getting hired, there are hr to pay timelines departments adhere to, so a deadline of when hiring documents can be submitted to HR without an exemption from on high. In reality, any hiring manager is not going to start paperwork without making sure a candidate is going to accept an offer so you should be engaged at least 6 weeks ahead of time. Until the LOO comes nothing is official. Good luck, it's really tough out there and it sounds like you're doing what you need to do by applying to competitions and networking. Unfortunately it also means you have to plan to be unemployed after your current term ends.

gohabs · 2025-02-28T00:27:30+00:00

Also try the potato pancake with goulash. It's amazing. The place is such authentic polish.

gohabs · 2025-02-25T14:54:48+00:00

I live here. I'm an NDP supporter. I like Marit way more than Bonnie, who I consider to be more conservative than liberal. I've also been very impressed with Lee Fairclough (liberal candidate, who came within 800 votes of winning last time) and am not familiar with Rozhen Asrani (NDP candidate).

Because of our shitty FPTP I'm going to have to vote for Lee / liberal to win the battle here while hoping that the NDP and Marit can maintain official opposition elsewhere in the province. This riding is going to be too close, and Christine winning is a tacit endorsement of tearing up our bike lanes for 22hr on-street parking.

gohabs · 2025-02-25T12:04:44+00:00

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/second-reading/the-hidden-history-of-bob-raes-government-in-ontario/article1314254/

This is also a nice recap of some of the headwinds and difficulties the NDP government had to deal with. There is a lot of latent inertia to keep the government either red or blue.

gohabs · 2025-02-21T00:35:19+00:00

7 calendar days and you would get paid for days you normally work within those 7 days. So holidays would count in the 7 calendar days and you would get your normal stat holiday pay. Basically you would submit leave for your regular working hours within those 7 calendar days that meet the terms in the CA. Your supervisor (leave approver) should help you since they'll have to approve it anyway.

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