null Episode 6 - Owen Johnston blends his cultural teachings with his role in the trades

Episode Owen Johnston

June 13, 2025

Episode 6 - Owen Johnston blends his cultural teachings with his role in the trades

๐—œ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ, ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜๐—น๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ข๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—๐—ผ๐—ต๐—ป๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—ป. 

Owen is CUSWโ€™s Recruitment Lead and a man whose career path is as diverse as it is inspiring.  

From earning a Social Work degree and working in street outreach for Torontoโ€™s Indigenous community, to scaffolding, parts management, and safety leadership at Bruce Power, Owen has brought compassion, resilience, and adaptability to every role he's taken on.  

Heโ€™s also a Pro Board Certified Fire Fighter and Live Fire Instructor, a volunteer fire fighter and a contract employee at Georgian College as a live fire instructor in their Marine program. He serves on the boards of both the Saugeen Sparks Training Centre and Indigenous Skills Employment Apprenticeship and Development Canada. (ISEAD) 

Owen shares how he was introduced to CUSW. This journey led him to his current recruitment role and his ongoing mission to build pathways into the trades for youth, second-career workers, and Indigenous communities.  

Host Dan and Owen discuss how cultural respect, mentorship, and safety are foundational to union life, and they emphasize that these values start at home. This episode is a testament to lived experience, lifelong learning, and building a better future together.  

One of Owenโ€™s shining moments has been sharing his Indigenous culture through sweat lodge ceremonies with fellow CUSW members. The next sweat ceremony will be held on August 30, 2025.

If you're interested in learning more or participating, Owen invites you to reach out to him directly at [email protected]

As we approach National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21, communities across Canada will be hosting events to celebrate the heritage, strength, and culture of First Nations, Inuit, and Mรฉtis peoples. Check the link below for more information.

https://www.cusw.ca/-/national-indigenous-peoples-day?redirect=%2Fnews 

If you have a story to share, want to suggest a guest, or have a topic you'd like to hear on the CUSW Spotlight Podcast, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected]. Weโ€™d love to hear from you! 

๐Ÿ”ป ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—”๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฝ ๐—๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜†

https://www.cusw.ca/apprenticeship

๐Ÿ”ป ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ป ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—”๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—–๐—จ๐—ฆ๐—ช

https://www.cusw.ca/who-we-are

๐Ÿ”ป ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ

https://www.cusw.ca/news

๐Ÿ”ป ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ง๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐—ต

https://www.cusw.ca/contact

๐Ÿ”ป ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ  

https://www.cusw.ca/participation-model

๐Ÿ”ป ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—˜๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ

https://thecuswspotlightpodcast.buzzsprout.com/2460173/follow

 ๐ŸŽง Listen Anytime, Anywhere! 

Find our podcast on all major directories, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and more.

๐Ÿ“บ Watch the Podcast on YouTube! 

๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐—ธ๐—ฒ, ๐—ฆ๐˜‚๐—ฏ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ and ๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ as you watch the full episodes on our official YouTube channel.

๐ŸŽต Music Credits: 

Original music by https://www.youtube.com/@UCdlYeTGo9FJTTR6oXqrwBcg  (lyrics, vocals, guitar) with production by Brad MacNeil.

๐—ง๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป, ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—–๐—จ๐—ฆ๐—ช ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜๐—น๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜!

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