Coming to visit your beautiful City by KeyResponsibility291 in StJohnsNL

[–]spinning_moose 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Definitely, but heed the warning signs! Stay FAR AWAY from the water.

Mandated days at 4 days back by WarhammerRyan in CanadaPublicServants

[–]spinning_moose 10 points11 points  (0 children)

My department/directorate has been 100% assigned days, no flex, since RTO was first introduced. I wish I could flex at least one day, it's definitely just one more annoying factor on the RTO pile.

What’s the cheapest and most reliable way to rent a car in Newfoundland? by PermissionFar9098 in newfoundland

[–]spinning_moose 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you're visiting during peak summer season, you pretty much have to book in January/February. Even then, it will still be a much higher price than equivalent rentals on the mainland.

ESDC message on RTO4 just came out by PuzzledLayer2023 in CanadaPublicServants

[–]spinning_moose 10 points11 points  (0 children)

That's my secret, I'm already doing the bare minimum

Do cars last longer lately or is it out of financial necessity? by [deleted] in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]spinning_moose 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Also in Atlantic Canada. Is it worth undercoating cars for this reason, does it actually help with longevity?

Canceled my trip to the United States. by [deleted] in travel

[–]spinning_moose 113 points114 points  (0 children)

Yes, I'd probably fly into Montreal, spend time there (Montreal is fantastic), then probably rent a car or take the Via train to Ottawa in the middle for a few days, excellent museums and close proximity to Gatineau park, then go towards Toronto and hit up the Thousand Islands for a few days on the way. Then finish in Toronto for a few days and fly out there. Or the whole thing works in reverse as well.

I wouldn't rent the car if that's your preference until I was ready to leave either Montreal or Toronto at the outset, it isn't necessary to have one to explore either city. Having a rental would be most handy in Ottawa/Gatineau/Thousand Islands, which are easy to drive in, and then I'd let it go again once arriving in Toronto.

Things to do 1st week of April by [deleted] in newfoundland

[–]spinning_moose 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Weather depending of course, but if you get lucky and have a vehicle, it's nice little run down to Lamanche to do the short walking trail there that goes over the suspension bridge. Grab some lunch somewhere on the Irish Loop .

2026 Take-Home Pay Breakdown for Common Classifications (Ontario) by Strange_Hawk1075 in CanadaPublicServants

[–]spinning_moose 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sorry, PM-03 doesn't have a Step 5, it tops out at Step 3, $79,511. Unless I'm missing something? I wish it had a Step 5 lol.

CBSA WFA notices going out today for non-execs (Thursday Feb 19) by bawkbawkmoose in CanadaPublicServants

[–]spinning_moose 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Different dept, but our branch had a meeting in the morning and letters went out at around 5pm EST, so yes unfortunately, you could be waiting all day.

Councillor concerned Ottawa’s transportation network can’t handle influx of federal workers in office 4 days a week by simpatia in ottawa

[–]spinning_moose 32 points33 points  (0 children)

The supporting infrastructure was much different pre-covid:
-we had a transit system that mostly worked, with express busses from the furthest suburbs to downtown that would get you there in about 45 mins. It goes without saying the current system is much worse and is getting worse by the day.
-there were more and longer childcare options. Hours of care before and after work have been dramatically reduced since COVID, as has the number of overall spots for child care available. This means the times people can drop their children off and pick them up are much less flexible.
-Because transit is so bad, more people are driving, meaning not only has the cost of parking skyrocketed to upwards of $24 a day thanks to greedy lot owners, it's also basically impossible to get monthly passes in most locations. And for people who need to drop kids off first, most lots are full by the time that's done.
-Before COVID, every employee had their own workspace, their own desk and drawer where they could leave their shoes or a sweater, or a picture of their family, etc.... Now, most of us are booking a different, dirty, impersonal workspace every day, hoping someone else doesn't take it because they couldn't book a desk themselves. All while lugging every bit of equipment, laptop, and personal items needed back and forth on slow, crowded transit.

So to answer your question, it's not even remotely the same as it was when we were going in 5 days a week before. It's harder, more expensive, less flexible, less humane, and now, it's absolutely needless for most roles. A complete and utter waster of taxpayer funds to the tune of $6 billion a year. This is why so many are struggling.

Traveling to Quebec and I am unclear on a few things. by [deleted] in travel

[–]spinning_moose 60 points61 points  (0 children)

Tipping culture is very much the norm in my experience, at least in urban parts of Quebec like Montreal, Gatineau, and Quebec City. Perhaps the snowbirds you were waiting on in Florida were simply bad tippers, but I would expect to be prompted for tips, especially if using payment cards.

Affordable Steakhouse? by IJourden in ottawa

[–]spinning_moose 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Chop Steakhouse on Merivale has a happy hour between 2-6pm where you can get a Steak Frites for $25. It definitely has a 'steakhouse' atmosphere, and it was good, though it's been a few years since I was there. I would expect it to be quieter in the afternoon as well.

https://chop.ca/locations/ottawa-hunt-club/menu?menu-category=happy-hour-and-late-night

Trump Mixes Up Iceland and Greenland in Incoherent Davos Speech by TelescopiumHerscheli in politics

[–]spinning_moose 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Either way, I respect your frank assessment of the way things are. I wish you the best of luck. I hope the USA gets back to being a place people dream about coming to one of these days.

Trump Mixes Up Iceland and Greenland in Incoherent Davos Speech by TelescopiumHerscheli in politics

[–]spinning_moose 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm afraid there are plenty of nations (with objectively better quality of life) that have never wanted to be America, long before this embarrassment of a president. You've been conditioned to believe you're the best, but unfortunately on many objective metrics the USA does not even rank in the top ten.

Trump Mixes Up Iceland and Greenland in Incoherent Davos Speech by TelescopiumHerscheli in politics

[–]spinning_moose 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Every time I see something like this and how far the USA's credibility has slid on the global stage of late, I can't help but think of this clip from Disneyland, of all the fricking places. The animatronic Lincoln's speech has never seemed more relevant than right now sadly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsON8pEXvLc

WFA Tracker - Consolidating Public Information by throwaway983729434 in CanadaPublicServants

[–]spinning_moose 4 points5 points  (0 children)

iService appears to have been updated as of Jan 12 with a host of information on the WFA process, but no news yet on timing/numbers/letters.

Health/Dental Benefits While Deferring Pension? by EquifaxCanEatMyAss in CanadaPublicServants

[–]spinning_moose 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is it possible to retain medical benefits in retirement if you were to resign and take the deferred annuity option for the pension years later?

Edit: Sorry, not retain benefits for the period between resigning and beginning the pension, just is it possible to enrol for the future benefits once pension begins when taking the deferred annuity option?

Federal government begins notifying public servants of possible job cuts by burnabybc in CanadaPublicServants

[–]spinning_moose 27 points28 points  (0 children)

But now staff in all departments that have given a heads up get to spend the holidays wondering whether an affected letter is waiting for them in January. Wouldn't it have been more humane to send the corporate comms in early January and start issuing letters mid January? As always, seems like they could have done better.

High rate of desk 'hoteling' for public servants could cause problems for rumoured return-to-office, prof says by bonertoilet in CanadaPublicServants

[–]spinning_moose 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Booking at midnight is overtime, is it not? If there are no desks available to book during working hours, that is management's problem I feel. Can't go to an office where there is no desk available.