The following is an auto-generated transcript of OFNTSC's Technically Speaking Podcast.

In this episode, OFNTSC Director of Operations Glen Goodman sits down with host Chelsey Johnson to discuss his work overseeing essential services like the Circuit Rider Training Program (CRTP), the OFNTSC Hub, fire safety, and Canada’s only Indigenous-led fuel training program.

Glen shares how these initiatives empower First Nation communities by building local expertise and career opportunities. Tune in to explore OFNTSC’s transformative efforts toward self-sufficiency, sustainability, and a future led by Indigenous youth in STEM

00:04 - Chelsey (Host)
Hello again, everybody, and welcome back to another episode of Technically Speaking OFNTSC's monthly podcast. Today I am here in Thunder Bay and I am interviewing a very special guest. Today we have Glenn Goodman, and Glenn is going to tell you more about his experience working at OFNTSC. But Glenn's current title is the Director of Operations, and so, without further ado, I would just like to say hello and welcome, glenn.

00:36 - Glen (Guest)
Oh, thanks so much, chelsea. I'm very pleased that you came up to Thunder Bay and got the experience of one of our satellite offices over the last couple of days, with the TICOP program being held at another location. To the audience today, I'm Glenn Goodman.

00:51
I'm the Director of Operations for the OFN TSE, of course based here in Thunder Bay, and I am overseeing four different programs that entail the operations side of our services to the First Nations throughout Ontario and they are specifically the Housing and Infrastructure Department, the Fire Safety Department, we have a CRTP Department Circuit Rider Trainer that facilitates training to water treatment plant operators throughout Ontario, and then we also have our hub, which is specifically providing operational support to water treatment plant operators in the unaffiliated First Nations.

01:28
We also have a fuel program that is led by Mark Schell and in those instances it's quite unique. It's actually the only Indigenous-led fuel training program in all of Canada. At the current time we just network with the First Nations throughout Ontario with a focus on the remote communities because of the large piece of infrastructure they have in regards to bulk fuel storage systems to supply power to those remote communities. But we further developed the program and have reached out to a multitude of different First Nations that have also gas bars have reached out to a multitude of different First Nations that have also gas bars in their communities, and we facilitate support to those communities whenever there's opportunity to work with them in construction aspects or installation aspects, as it relates to fuel components with gas bars or fuel station systems.

02:20 - Chelsey (Host)
Amazing, as with your introduction there, Glenn no-transcript.

02:46 - Glen (Guest)
In specifically my office, leading a team of individuals that facilitate support services technical support services, excuse me and from a training perspective, is what we do is somewhat different than any other Indigenous entity in the province in that not only are we providing services for things such as house inspections or fuel installations or fire safety, but while we are engaging our community partners and the members that are responsible for the various programs that are associated with my portfolio is that we also offer unique opportunities to train them, ie to become accredited in the endeavour or the field of work in which they're employed by for their First Nations. So we do that with our fuel program, we're attempting to do that with our operations. Housing infrastructure side. We've got a number of applications and proposals sent out to federal government entities that are being given some serious considerations, with aspirations that will work towards eventually accrediting housing individuals or housing employees, excuse me in First Nation communities throughout Ontario so that they they become qualified as house inspectors to meet the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Training Curriculum.

04:12
In addition, of course, there's our Circuit Rider Training Program and that in itself is one of the first in all of Canada that's tied in with a provincial certification entity called the Ontario Water and Wastewater Certification Office, where OFN TSE, several years ago, developed its own training curriculum. It's two-piece there's on-a-job training, which takes place right in the community's water treatment plant, and then there is the classroom-style curriculum that they're referred to as CEUs classroom style curriculum that is called. They're referred to as CEUs. Operators across Ontario are required to, in order to attain or retain licenses, have so many hours over a specific time period either two to three years to either attain or retain the licenses that they have. So it's, in a nutshell if there's anything that I take the greatest pride in and what OFN TSE does, it's the training support services that we also facilitate, along with the technical support services for individuals that reside in our communities and work with their infrastructure departments so that they can attain and become confident in the work that they provide to their First Nation members.

05:32 - Chelsey (Host)
For sure, and it's amazing. Just you know the diversity. I'm assuming that somebody like in your position would almost have to be a kind of jack of all trades to kind of you know, know how all these different things are working and how they're all working together as well. Can you talk a little bit more about your history, of how you came to know about OFNTSC and how you came to be part of the organization?

05:56 - Glen (Guest)
Well, my career has been long spanned in regards to working with various indigenous organizations here in Northwestern Ontario. At one point in time I was a manager for a technical unit for a tribal council called Pitiguzing, which is based in Fort Francis and represents the Rainy Lake region First Nation communities, and at that point in time, before the reformation of our current OFN TSC board of directors, each tribal council had a representative sitting on the board. So at that point in time, that was my first introduction as the technical manager. I also assumed automatically assumed the responsibility of being Pidigu Zing's OFN TSE board of directors representative. I brought a unique, I guess, perspective to the table when I joined the board of directors with the OFN TSE is because of my strong background in regards to the trades.

06:51
I've worked in industrial settings and in commercial settings. I formerly had an HVAC license. I currently still retain my power engineer certification and those are all aspects of service deliverables and responsibilities and experience that I garnered while I worked with this. That there's something to gain for each individual that is participating in our programs, you know, so that they can attain some manner of training, certification that not only has application on reserve right, so that they can, you know, in the instance of individuals that are seeking or have higher aspirations and want to move on from a career standpoint, they can take that certification and training that the OFN TSE has facilitated and use it in another work environment that isn't always necessarily working in a First Nation community.

07:59 - Chelsey (Host)
And when would you say what was the? Do you remember what year you had joined the board?

08:03 - Glen (Guest)
Oh, my geez, you're going to date me here, chelsea. My gray hair has given me away for the audiences that are listening today. I've been with the OFNTSC for approximately seven years. I worked with Pitiguzing Tribal Council for five years and prior to that I worked in senior management roles with a group of communities that are representative of the Lake Nipigon region.

08:25
I was actually the chief executive officer for an electrical corporation that was making considerations for a huge dam project, a water power generation dam on the north end of Lake Nipigon, and, to my understanding, I think that's going to move forward, because 20 years ago, when I was involved in that specific project, whereas it was on Ontario Hydro, that was the main facilitator for it to move forward is that it was being considered on the pretense is that there may be some mineral development happening in the far north and, because of what's just recently come about in the past 10 years is, of course, everyone's familiar with the ring of fire and my understanding. Uh, my member community and the group of communities that are based on lake nipigon are now moving forward with that project and having dialogue with ontario hydro for a huge project in the value of billions of dollars. And sorry what I didn't mention this earlier.

09:25 - Chelsey (Host)
but what your community? Uh, what community are you my? For a huge project in the value of billions of dollars. Wow, and sorry I didn't mention this earlier but what community are you from?

09:31 - Glen (Guest)
My community's indigenous name is Anabaguzagagun Anishinaabe, formerly before we started getting into the practice of using our traditional name, it's well known as the Lake Nipigon, ojibwe. We're a displaced community. We only officially got community traditional name. It's well known as the lake nipigin ojibwe. We're a displaced community. We only officially got community or reserve designation recognized approximately 20 years ago because we were displaced by the hydroelectric dams that are up on the north end of the lake. They're diversion dams and what they did is they put diversion dams and water systems at the north end of the Lake Nipigon. So in essence is they diverted the water from flowing north into the James Bay water system and now it flows south through Lake Nipigon and you know the resources are making income for federal and provincial entities and corporations as it goes through the series of rivers and lakes, eventually emptying into the St Lawrence Seaway.

10:27 - Chelsey (Host)
Yeah, so you know you've had such a long history with the organization. I'm curious to hear what are your thoughts on what's changed since you've first encountered OFN TSC and where you see it going in the future.

10:39 - Glen (Guest)
I think the biggest thing that we've seen under the leadership of Melanie is a big change in regards to accountability internally within the organization, and it's proven to be advantageous right as we've really increased the level of service that we're facilitating to all of the communities that we are partnered with. We're actually receiving considerably more outreach, because communities that formerly weren't utilizing the OFN TSE as a technical service provider are seeing the gains made by their partner communities, and now there's that reach out happening. And then, of course, the magnitude of the work and the value of projects that are taking place. It's somewhat it's related to our current government, federal government that's in power, and their financial commitments that they've made over the last five years, not coincidentally, but you know, moving forward is, hoping, dependent on what's going to be the outcome of the next federal election.

11:36
I'm very confident in regards to the OFNT's capabilities and I don't think there will be anything different in regards to what we do and the amount of services that we provide to First Nations. There's also been a significant increase in the amount of staff working with the OFN TSE, of course, because we're taking advantage of a number of other funding entities that formerly weren't just approached to support our endeavors in regards to technical services. So you know, if you consider what we do with the hub, with the fuel program, and there's a sidearm to what we do with our core fuel training program, in that we're also receiving financial support from Indigenous Services Canada to facilitate the supply and provision of fuel spill kits, which we send out to any community that has fuel storage resources on their reserves.

12:34 - Chelsey (Host)
You mentioned the hub and I think I'd like to highlight that a little bit more, just because it's, I think, a unique model. It's only been with OFN TSC. It started in I believe it was September of 2021.

12:49 - Glen (Guest)
Yeah, it's been with us for approximately this is its third year of existence.

12:53 - Chelsey (Host)
Yeah, could you talk about how that came to be and what the hub does?

12:56 - Glen (Guest)
Well, the hub again to emphasize it, what we do is with a team of accredited water and wastewater technicians licensed by the province of Ontario is that we go into our partner unaffiliated First Nations and provide support to operators who either don't have the confidence or don't have the certifications that are necessary to operate their water treatment plant infrastructure or their wastewater system infrastructure.

13:27
And a lot of instances and again because of the OFNTSC support with a number of First Nations across Ontario, there's because of the recognition of meeting provincial requirements for that infrastructure is it's being totally renovated or there are brand new bills of water treatment plants occurring almost constantly over the past five years.

13:52
In regards to that is how it works is the OFN, tse is either sending in our circuit rider trainers to ensure that the water treatment plant operators, who are employees of the First Nations in which these water treatment plants are located, can attain or maintain the existing licenses perhaps that they may hold, or, if they don't hold them, we can facilitate the training for that as well.

14:19
So it's a unique, I guess, partnership between the two entities under OF and TSE's umbrella, the CRTP and the hub, that we can facilitate that type of support services. Our hub is also the biggest one in Canada in the fact that we have the most member communities partnering with us, so it's the whole total of 18 unaffiliated First Nations. And then we've all also envelop Sandy Lake First Nation into it as well, because of the uniqueness of not only their location but the accreditation piece, because they are just having a brand new water treatment plant being commissioned by our engineering team, and so we're a big proponent towards supporting the three operators that are currently engaged in our CRTP training program to offer them and facilitate the support on site when that plant eventually becomes online.

15:16 - Chelsey (Host)
Wow, that's pretty interesting how you mentioned, the engineering side is helping Sandy Lake with their new water treatment plant and then the hub team's able to step right in there and help with the actual operators.

15:27 - Glen (Guest)
Right, you know I'm not sure if it's accomplished or it's attainable in other regions across Canada but again, emphasizing the fact as to how all of the OF and TSC teams collaborate with one another to move things forward, it's a real special arrangement and friendships that we have internally where we're dependent on each other, we're knowledgeable of each other's skill set and capabilities and that's constantly impressed through our teams and, as you're aware of, through the weekly and monthly meetings that we have internally within our organization to support the communities or the First Nations needs with all of their major infrastructure or their capital projects.

16:11 - Chelsey (Host)
I'd say that was another huge thing, I think One of the changes. I've been at OFNTSC for five years but it seemed to be a little bit more siloed and now it seems like we have a really good cohesion across the departments and services and everyone's working together and you know it's only going to keep getting better from here, so that's really exciting. You know it's only going to keep getting better from here, so that's really exciting. But I wanted to also just ask, even for my own purposes glenn, did you help to to kind of like clarify the difference between hub and crtp and then talk a little bit more about what crtp does?

16:41 - Glen (Guest)
okay, well, again, to emphasize, the circuit rider training program is the only one in all of canada that is licensed to meet the provincial requirements of the province of Ontario for the accreditation process that anybody interested in becoming or working in the water or wastewater fields here in Ontario Our curriculum is unique. I think we're up at approximately 32 CEUs. 32 CEUs so that's classroom programs that were specifically developed with First Nations needs taken into account. As these training programs were developed, they need to be vetted and approved by the province again, the Ontario Water Wastewater Certification Office and then we go out into the community again with our accredited trainers, who are all licensed water treatment plant operators as well, to go in and facilitate the training. And so there's that constant, you know, interaction between water treatment plant operators and the First Nations that participate in our circuit rider training program and the trainers that work for the OFNTSC.

17:51
And, again, you know, there's constant communication going on between the hub and the CRTP, because when the circuit rider trainers are in First Nations where it's identified that they perhaps may need operational support, that's when we make consideration to send in the technical representative who are more hands-on, right, so they're working with the water treatment plant operators, not specifically to mentor them to meet the training requirements for provincial certification, but just to assist them in the operation and maintenance of their water treatment plants. But again, two different scenarios is because the Circuit Rider Training Program provides training support to all the First Nations in Ontario, whereas the hub is a program that's facilitated, again through Indigenous Services Canada funding to provide support only to the UFNs, and so the partner numbers are substantially different. The hub facilitates support services to 19 First Nations across Ontario and they're all considered unaffiliated First Nations because they're not members of tribal councils, and the Circuit Rider training program facilitates training support to all the First Nations, so that's inclusive of the tribal council member communities and all of the unaffiliated First Nations as well.

19:17 - Chelsey (Host)
Gotcha. Okay, quite interesting, and I want to get a little bit of a taste of all the programs that you oversee and all the services. So I'd love to hear more about the fuel handler program and, as somebody who's from Southern Ontario, I actually just recently learned that a lot of the communities up north are powered by diesel.

19:39
Diesel powered generators, and I had no concept of that in my head. So for somebody who is like me, who is just ignorant to that, could you speak a little bit more about why the Bolt Fuel Handler Program is so important in that regard and how that works?

19:53 - Glen (Guest)
Yeah, I'll speak to that in just a sec, but I think this just came to mind.

19:57
I think it's important for the audience that is listening to this podcast is that they have a clear understanding is that the support services, that all of the technical services that the OF and TSE provides to our communities, are at no cost.

20:09
Yes, so you know, that really enhances the capabilities because of the funding struggles that most of our communities are dealing with on almost a day-to-day basis.

20:19
But to jump back into the conversation on our fuel training program, it was taken as a consideration for a core service at the very beginning of the OFNTSE becoming a corporation and the reasoning for that is currently there are 27 remote First Nations. A number of them are going to be tied into electrical transmission services over the next few years, but in the interim, since the injection of this program to facilitate support, which was approximately 25 years ago all of them all the remote communities ie only capable of being reached by airplane or winter ice road systems during the winter months is that they are all dependent on huge diesel-powered electric generators for electrification throughout their community. So to power their infrastructure and to power their homes. It's an eye-opener to be in these communities when you're first introduced to the magnitude of these types of installations. We're talking infrastructure and bulk fuel tanks that hold tens of thousands of liters of diesel fuel that is shipped in on winter roads during the ice Wait can I stop you?

21:43
Sure.

21:44 - Chelsey (Host)
Because this is blowing my mind. The diesel is shipped in on the winter roads, so in the summer there's no way to get the diesel up there none whatsoever in emergency situations.

21:55 - Glen (Guest)
I do recall in a few instances where it's flown in by a huge aircraft that have the capability, because there's some significant safety provisions that need to be made when you're flying fuel in by air.

22:08
But hence the reasoning for the huge storage tanks is because you have that small window of opportunity to ship the fuel into the communities during ice road conditions and it's being impacted substantially enough to last throughout the entire summer until the roads can freeze again yeah, and there's some significant impacts now because of climate change, where that winter road shipping system is now becoming smaller and smaller and smaller, whereas you know earlier in my career you know, the winter road system would start somewhere at around the end of December and go until the end of March.

22:51
Now we're finding, you know, just on an average, is that that winter road system is sometimes only reliable for a matter of two to three weeks because of the effects of climate change.

23:03
But government has made considerations and it's all relative to environmental best practices as well, and there's currently a transmission electrical supply transmission corridor that's being installed and it's going to all of. Eventually, all of these First Nations that are dependent on diesel fuel to provide power are going to be hooked up into an electric supply system through transmission towers, like is easily recognizable, or, you know, a common type of installation in municipalities. To give you a better aspect of the amount of fuel that goes into the that is shipped into these 27 First Nations is Toronto Pearson Airport, which is the biggest international airport in Canada. It doesn't use as much jet fuel as what is shipped into 27 First Nations on an annual basis, so it's quite enormous and, of course, there's substantial risk associated with that right. And of course there's substantial risk associated with that right and hence us having the bulk fuel training program is because if there is ever a catastrophic damage or leak into the environment, it would be a catastrophe for the First Nations Environmental catastrophe community catastrophe.

24:27
Exactly so. You know, one of the things that I can emphasize with our fuel program is that there hasn't been that catastrophic release of biocarbons into the soils of any of our First Nations, and I really enhance the fact that a big reasoning for that is because of the safety practices that we train the operators of those bulk fuel systems to. We're currently also again, you hear my compassion in regards to the training piece is. The program is unique in that it's the only one of its kind in all of Canada for First Nations, but it isn't certified, and we're currently reaching out with an organization here in the province of Ontario called the Technical Safety Authority and we're hoping to have our course accredited so that individuals that participate will receive a provincial certification to operate those types of fuel storage systems, which would have application to anywhere else across Canada or in any other First Nation.

25:34 - Chelsey (Host)
Wow. So the fuel program is really critical for those remote communities who need to have the diesel shipped in.

25:42 - Glen (Guest)
It is, and there's a significant risk and liability. Even if we go and have dialogue with communities that aren't remote, you know, you look at the numbers specifically down in southern Ontario, with large First Nations, and the amount of fuel or gas bars that are currently in place on reserves or being contemplated as additional installations. There's literally hundreds of them across Canada and there's the risk and liability that chief and council are accountable for because they're incorporated into reserve lands and what we're finding is that in most instances, the owners of these gas stations on reserve haven't been provisioned any type of insight in regards to their responsibilities as owners of bulk fuel systems. You know, because they hold the gasoline or the diesel fuel in, you know, tanks that have a capability of holding thousands and thousands of liters that they transfer into vehicles as they transgress through their communities. But in the event of a leak, it's the chief and council that would assume the risk and liability for the contaminated soils and the accountability for it.

26:54 - Chelsey (Host)
right, yeah, for sure, and so you mentioned that there is going to be infrastructure put in place to bring power to those communities. Do you think that's the solution, or do you see another solution in the horizon.

27:07 - Glen (Guest)
No, I believe that's being proactive, specifically because, as we talk about climate change, right, and environmental best practices, because the biocarbons that are released into the atmosphere because of these huge gen sets, right, it's just enormous.

27:24
Taking into consideration is that you know, the advantage of, also, the electrical power provided by a transmission corridor is much cleaner and efficient and dependent right, there's constant interruptions and you know, a lot of the things that transpire in our remote communities are really related to the undependability of their diesel gensets, right, because it's aged infrastructure. We're dealing with a critical situation in one of our First Nations this winter, whereas a number of their aged diesel systems that the community was dependent on were breaking down or failing and they were down to their last generator. They have a series of three and this was happening or occurring at a time when the weather elements were 30 and 40 below and all of these homes, the majority of them, had electrical heating systems in them. So you can only imagine the, I guess, high levels of anxiety that chief and council were dealing with and OFN TSE stepped in to provide support and eventually, you know we found an accredited diesel mechanic, brought them into it and you know they rectified the problem. Before there was a community blackout, which was fortunate for everyone involved.

28:38 - Chelsey (Host)
And I'm assuming as well, like if those, if some of those remote communities have a water treatment plant, is that relying also on the diesel power and yes, the diesel infrastructure is, you know, aging and needs replacing. That can cause, I'm assuming, the water treatment system to be. Sometimes, you know, the power is working, sometimes it's not. Is there situations like that?

29:02 - Glen (Guest)
You know the power is working. Sometimes it's not. Is there situations like that? Yeah, the differences between loads, between a dependable electrical supply and a diesel-generated supply, are substantial and it's real hard or difficult for components that are such as large pumps and, you know, major infrastructure, buildings and communities, to recover from those constant interruptions when diesel systems go offline. And it's more costly as well to replace those components that are subject to those constant interruptions. It's commonplace in our remote communities that there's power disruptions occurring on a week-to-week basis.

29:42 - Chelsey (Host)
And the huge challenge being that you can't just go down to the local hardware store and get a replacement part.

29:48 - Glen (Guest)
Exactly because of the remoteness of their location. You know you're networking with various service providers and technical experts and OFNTSC in a lot of instances facilitates that type of support service as well. Right, a lot of it takes into consideration the pre-planning that's necessary. You know I mentioned Sandy Lake and the water treatment plant, that project that OFNTSC is facilitating support and oversight with. You know the magnitude of coordinating the supply of the materials so it all can be shipped into on a winter road system and then construction activities start in the spring. The enormity of it is just huge difficult, difficulty yeah, oh my goodness.

30:37 - Chelsey (Host)
Um, yeah, thank you for sharing that, glenn, because, as I was saying, I'm born and raised in southern ont, ontario, and I'm just completely ignorant to the challenges that are so unique and, but calm, very common up here in.

30:49 - Glen (Guest)
Canberra.

30:49 - Chelsey (Host)
Bay and the northern communities. Do you see any other future trends or advancements in either engineering or kind of like technical technology that you're hopeful will help to improve some of these situations?

31:05 - Glen (Guest)
Well, one of the unique things that's just recently occurred is the benefits of Starlink right, where you have small satellites that are now provisioning you know, an ability to First Nations to communicate directly with. You know, not only from a personal standpoint with their immediate family or friends, but you know to work with technical, personal standpoint with their immediate family or friends, but you know to work with technical service providers such as the OFNTSC. So there's no disruptions, because previously, when it was all tied into the Genset system, it was constantly interrupted, as I've been witness to, in the midst of a meeting that's happening or occurring, virtually all of a sudden everybody disappears off the screen. But now, with Starlink, that's quite impressive to be able to communicate with them with a dependable link so connectivity, connectivity exactly huge improvement that's going to be happening there is it already being implemented not all communities but a number of them.

32:00
Most of them are connected in in that fashion. Right the. The other piece too is, as I'm a huge supporter and emphasize again, is the training aspects. Right Is as we move forward over the next 10 years it's my perspective is that with the training support that the OFNTSC is facilitating and how we envision that's going to get bigger and develop into other programs, first, nation communities are going to eventually have their own house inspectors. They're going to have and qualify to provincial standards. They're going to have all of their water treatment plant operators that will be certified to meet provincial regulations.

32:42
We're currently working internally with the OFN TSE. We're developing Red Seal trades. We have a Red Seal trade millwright working for us and he's facilitating the apprenticeship of an individual who will eventually attain the same accreditations as him with the millwright and that's part of our hub program. We just recently hired a full-scale red seal tradesman electrician. So we're reaching out to the province and looking for funding support so that we can find an indigenous applicant and work them into becoming an electrical apprentice, eventually attaining two to three years full-scale red Seal certifications working in the water treatment plant.

33:26
So everything overlaps each other or, you know, goes hand in hand, I'm hoping you know, with the recognition and the capabilities of our First Nation communities, and it's got to be an amicable partnership led by chief and councils is that you know they recognize the uniqueness of our situation and, instead of paying subcontractors and capital project contractors to come into their communities to facilitate works such as building water treatment plants or building homes building homes that skill set can and will be developed eventually in First Nations so that there will be a component of carpenters and electricians and roofers and all of the applicable trades that can network in our Indigenous peoples who are members of our communities and can move to wherever. That facilitate the manner of support that any community will need Eventually. Where will that level of training and any community will need Eventually that level of training and accreditation will reside in each one of our communities.

34:29 - Chelsey (Host)
Yeah, and I'm glad you mentioned that, because you know the reason that Jordan and I are up here this week is because we had the STEM camp for the youth and that's part of the work that we're trying to do as well is to get those you know, get those youth interested in these types of careers.

34:43
Work that we're trying to do as well is to get those you know, keep get those youth interested in these types of careers so that if they do go back to their communities, the communities will have those people in-house. And thanks for joining us, by the way at the camp that day that was.

34:53
It was a really fun time. But yeah, I think just to close out the podcast today. I would love to hear your ideas on how we can get the youth more involved and how that can look in the future. Like what is your ultimate hope for the future.

35:08 - Glen (Guest)
Well, you've, clearly we have the same ideology in regards to engagement, and it starts at the classroom level with Indigenous youth that are attending grade school and high school, and I was rather taken aback by one of the displays that you had there for contaminated soils, to the point that I thought it was such a unique because truly it was one of the pieces of your STEM camp here hosted in Thunder Bay, that I think garnered the most interest from the youth that were participating. And I've since reached out to my team of supervisors with the hub and the CRTP and fuel and fire safety and housing and asked them what would they do in regards to getting that same level of interest for their programs right? So, creating a model related to their program, so, you know, have a model of a house and be able to identify its unique features for construction, or, in our fuel program, have a model of a bulk fuel holding system for diesel or gasoline or, with the CRTP in the hub, it would be something that would facilitate, you know, an ideology or familiarization as to water treatment or wastewater treatment systems and how they function, right. So I think the visual aspects of that one display that you had there has broad applications through all of our departments and I'm hoping we can implement that for your next STEM camp. But again, you know it's getting that interest, all of our departments, and I'm hoping we can implement that for your next STEM camp.

36:50
But again, you know it's getting that interest, it's being persistent in our reach-out attempts because, I'll be up front with you, sometimes it's discouraging, but you know we have to keep in mind that there are other things that First Nations communities are working with and always ensure that the conversation goes towards leadership and identifying that their youth need to be part of our programs at all levels.

37:13
Right, as I've enhanced with our CRTP and our hub is that if there's opportunities for grade school children to take a tour of a water treatment plant, have enhanced with our housing program if there's an opportunity to take grade school children and have them go through or do a walkthrough of a house under construction, of course taking into the safety considerations that would be necessary for that age group to be on a construction site.

37:40
Right, which is a huge concern. But that's where it starts and you know, if I look back at the beginning of my career, it was something similar that really got my attention. Right. It was a display that was happening through the course of one of my education components that brought me into the engineering side as a power engineer, and I thought it was pretty neat to see and it garnered my interest and I carried that with me to where I became educated in that field of work and I think there's an application or benefit to having the same approach with Indigenous youth so that eventually we can attain control of our own destinies when it comes to infrastructure on First Nations and it's, you know, from a perspective of where I see it being beneficial is, 10 years time, indigenous people taking a responsibility and being the constructors of all the infrastructure within their own communities.

38:41 - Chelsey (Host)
Thank you so much, glenn. Thanks for sharing those ideas as well. We'll be sure to incorporate them into our future programming. So that was really great to hear your feedback and, yeah, I thank you again for sitting down with us. Do you have anything else you'd like to add before we finish out?

38:57 - Glen (Guest)
Well, I want to thank you for this opportunity and emphasize with our audiences that if there's services that you're interested in with the OFN TSE, please reach out to any member of our team or call my office directly, as we're available at any time specifically to support any of the First Nations or all of the First Nations throughout Ontario.

39:17 - Chelsey (Host)
Thanks, Thank you so much, glenn, and thank you everybody for listening today. We will be back with another podcast episode very soon, but in the meantime, please check us out on our website, wwwofntscorg, and also across social media at OFNTSC.