In an OTC first, Logan’s Story centres on mental health as a primary issue. Logan and Trevor discuss how fragile job security can be a major trigger for depression and anxiety. Logan describes how being the safety guy at Wesgroup Properties doesn’t always make him the most popular person, but how important it is for him to support workers’ psychological and physical safety.

Logan shares his own story of how he suddenly started noticing that things didn’t feel the same for him in his mind. He had lost interest in video games that he used to really enjoy. Everything just seemed harder, or impossible. He took a mood disorders screening test that his employer, Wesgroup, offers and discovered that he had severe depression, including suicidal thoughts. He went to his doctor to receive medical advice and was prescribed an antidepressant. A year later, the antidepressant is helping, but Logan is looking at further steps he can take to support himself. Trevor, Logan and Karen agree that the solution is in the trying. And the trying is what gives people agency to get better. Staying stuck is what keeps people sick.

Logan shares the difference Off the Clock has made on Wesgroup sites, opening the eyes of many, and helping others get the treament they need, but couldn’t find a point of entry they recognized.

https://wesgroup.ca/careers/

https://www.tradespodcast.com/

https://www.musterpointcanada.ca/

Formerly known as Off the Clock Toolbox Talk, MusterPoint Off the Clock is worker driven, no BS, strength-based peer conversations about mental health in Canada's skilled trades.

Big Mike C's Story starts intensely, including a trigger warning about childhood SA. He discusses his early adulthood involvement with drug use, trauma, organized crime, and raw-dogging detox.

After marrying and having a child, Mike's life settled into a work-intense routine that provided a kind of stability. Substance use trickled back in, eventually exploding after a series of devastating losses.

In a death spiral of dysfunction, Mike asked his estranged wife for help; she got him into treatment at Edgewood Nanaimo https://www.edgewoodhealthnetwork.com/.  After a month of treatment, Edgewood referred Mike for specialized trauma services at The Last Door https://lastdoor.org/ in New Westminster. There, Mike learned to connect with something greater than himself, to take responsibility for his personal growth and to accept love through the power of community.

Mike is part of the MusterPoint community and will be a MusterPoint Peer Support Worker in 2027. www.musterpointcanada.ca

Formerly known as Off the Clock Toolbox Talk, MusterPoint Off the Clock is worker driven, no BS, strength-based peer conversations about mental health in Canada's skilled trades.

“Evolution” gathers Off the Clock Toolbox Talk OG’s for our first video episode, (see https://www.tradespodcast.com/ for video) and the merging with MusterPoint to create Muster Point Off the Clock. Shawn, Daniel, Kale, Jason, Trevor and Karen reflect on the project's journey, impact, and future direction, while emphasizing the importance of community-led peer support in the skilled trades.

Jason reminds us of the importance of talking about suicide, and how it has impacted his and his family’s life.

Daniel and Karen reminisce about the disaster of the first “script” that Daniel immediately and abrasively threw out the window, setting the stage for real conversations only.

Kale reminds us of the centrality of the most often quoted line in the podcast, “The opposite of addiction is not sobriety. The opposite of addiction is connection.” (Johann Hari)

Shawn talks about the enormous impact of our visits to workers on construction sites.

Trevor shares the future of MusterPoint, a worker-driven mental health support app that bypasses formal systems that feel impersonal or unapproachable to many tradespeople. He emphasizes that MusterPoint is not a replacement for medical care, but serves as a bridge for tradespeople. It can be customized to whatever kind of bridge the user needs: from someone who gets it, to someone who can help you get into treatment the same week you know you need to get into treatment. https://www.musterpointcanada.ca/

Karen wraps it up by losing the group to raucous laughter as she tries to tell an apropos story gone awry, featuring Kale nearly falling off his chair. 

Formerly known as Off the Clock Toolbox Talk, MusterPoint Off the Clock is worker driven, no BS, strength-based peer conversations about mental health in Canada's skilled trades.

Rodbuster, Peter White (aka Peter Notsowhite) tells us his story of healing through culture.

Peter summarizes of series of heartbreaking tragedies in his early years, all related to inter-generational trauma of Indigenous peoples on Turtle Island (North America). Like many of our guests, Peter dropped out of school early when he got an opportunity to work in the trades. Alcohol use came hand in hand with the trades, and like most of our guests, Peter felt 'normal' for this first time in his life with alcohol. Also like many of our guests, Peter stopped being able to show up for work when the alcohol use became prolific.

The sharp turn in Peter's Story, however, arrives when after a dry spell in the oil fields, Peter tried to return to drinking but could no longer continue. The taste and the rituals suddenly just felt wrong to him. Peter stopped drinking cold turkey. Rather than just living a sober life, Peter grew his spirit through the spirituality of his culture. About the same time, Peter discovered he had cancer. He faced all these challenges with his spirituality, and grew strong, well, and resilient in the middle of it. Peter began attending Powwows and began to learn traditional dance in all his regalia.

Peter is now a well known and respected traditional dancer across Turtle Island. Trevor and Peter discuss the importance and focus of treating the body like an athlete would; with nutrition, rest, challenge and training. Peter's recovery is fed by a combination of respect for all things, and knowing that everything happens for a reason. Check out Peter on IG @peternotsowhite 

Formerly known as Off the Clock Toolbox Talk, MusterPoint Off the Clock is worker driven, no BS, strength-based peer conversations about mental health in Canada's skilled trades.

Remy & Trevor kick off Remy’s Story with the humor of what their first few days of treatment looked like together in 2019. Remy goes back to the origins of his story, an Indigenous kid growing up in a white family, his mother being a product of the The Sixties Scoop. Remy’s feelings of not belonging and disconnection from culture contributed to his troubles as a kid and ultimately led him to alcohol use. Remy left school early to work in remote industries: tree service, mining, oil & gas, firefighting, etc. In the oil and gas field Remy was introduced to cocaine which rapidly deteriorated his ability to function. Remy and Trevor discuss the insanity they both experienced in their days of trying to work through their cocaine dependence, including not wanting to be alive due to their suffering. At the height of Remy’s substance related illness, Remy was initially refused medical treatment until the doctor assessed his blood and saw the severity of damage to his liver, kidneys, and pancreas. With some humor, Remy talks about how his recovery wasn’t a straight line until he landed in Cedars Recovery. Through many more remarkable life experiences, Remy developed into the strong Indigenous leader that he had been seeking his whole life. Remy wraps up with a visceral recounting of his experience with his higher power in the 2021 Lytton wildfire.

Formerly known as Off the Clock Toolbox Talk, MusterPoint Off the Clock is worker driven, no BS, strength-based peer conversations about mental health in Canada's skilled trades.

Tyler’s Story - Part 2: The Aftershow picks up with Tyler finishing the very end of his story when the team relax a little and begin deconstructing some of the ideas that came up:

-          How getting honest leads to finding ourselves again

-          How patriarchy has f*cked men up in their ability to connect with their own bodies and emotions

-          Men feeling joy in hope. (WTF?)  Just real dudes naming their experience.

-          Some secrets on early recovery, stigma, and finding your way through.

Formerly known as Off the Clock Toolbox Talk, MusterPoint Off the Clock is worker driven, no BS, strength-based peer conversations about mental health in Canada's skilled trades.

Tyler’s been a labourer, plumber, stone fabricator, CSO, roofer, and a few other things. Tyler’s relationship with incarceration began early, shaped from his trauma, OCD and ADHD. Tyler shares parts of his journey through a life devastated by unregulated drug use and violence and how his work ethic was one thing he could still hold on to. We begin to hear about the finer steps Tyler took to get his life back, and some of the peace he’s since found in Tyler’s Story – Part 1. 

Look for Tyler’s Story  - Part 2: The Aftershow as Tyler and the team pull back the curtain on complex issues that aren’t often spoken of, coming up next on Off the Clock Toolbox Talk. 

Formerly known as Off the Clock Toolbox Talk, MusterPoint Off the Clock is worker driven, no BS, strength-based peer conversations about mental health in Canada's skilled trades.

The Season 4 Sampler lets you get a bit of each episode:

1.      Anthony’s Story

2.     Constructive Coercion Pt 1 – Dr. Jeremy Milloy

3.     The New PPE (C. Michael Kinsella’s Story)

4.     100 Good-bye’s with Dr. Nicole Anders

5.     James’ Story (Pain BC)

6. Constructive Coercion Pt 2 – Jeremy Milloy

While Season 4 spanned a wide variety of expertise and geography, the themes of pain, loss, grief and hope tell the story of every worker and every family in the Off the Clock Toolbox Talk family.

Formerly known as Off the Clock Toolbox Talk, MusterPoint Off the Clock is worker driven, no BS, strength-based peer conversations about mental health in Canada's skilled trades.

James Boseley grew up in rough and tumble rural Alberta. Pain or having an IV plugged into his arm was no reason to stop working. Dealing with pain on a daily chronic basis, James’ mental health rapidly deteriorated to where he was considering suicide.

Because of his severe pain, James left Alberta to haul disposal bins in BC for half of what he was making in AB. Here James was injured again, breaking and tearing multiple hard and soft tissues throughout his body. With James’ high pain tolerance the medical system downplayed his injury. Not only did he not receive appropriate medical treatment, but he was shamed and discouraged from voicing his pain. James had to fight tooth & nail for his basic benefits at Worksafe. Despite acknowledging the severity of James’ injuries, Worksafe only treated a fraction of the injuries and denied the rest. Being off work for years, James didn’t have the money to hire a lawyer, and ended up living in squalor, creating even more challenges for his healing journey. Adding to his long list of injuries, James was psychologically devastated when he was told he should just be thankful that he has what he has.

Karen, James and Trevor discuss the additional emotional injury that occurs when our physical injuries aren’t validated and treated. They discuss the additional injury that service providers add by putting the burden of wellness back onto the client when the injury doesn’t heal at first treatment.

James ties up with his excitement at the Pain & Trades program he is developing at https://painbc.ca/ . He can be contacted at [email protected]

Formerly known as Off the Clock Toolbox Talk, MusterPoint Off the Clock is worker driven, no BS, strength-based peer conversations about mental health in Canada's skilled trades.

Dr. Jeremy Milloy tells us about constructive coercion: a concept created in the 1960's and 70's from concerns that Vietnam veterans would return from war unable to navigate the workplace due to opioid addiction. Industry leaders believed that people (primarily men) would be incentivized to get treatment through the workplace in order to keep their jobs. Assessment of who had problematic substance use then fell on worksite foreman to identify who needed to be sent to see a counsellor and go into treatment.

Employers and workers then began this complex, codependent relationship that we now call extended benefits. If the employee comes forward asking for help, the employer has a duty to support the employee. But if the employee gets caught with a positive drug test, then they are fired and no longer have access to recovery benefits. The only way to access affordable treatment is through the employer, but workers feel obligated to hide their drug use so the employer can continue to be profitable.

The story becomes even more convoluted when we look at drug testing at remote work camps. Jeremy refers to the dance of drug testing as theater where only capitalism wins by creating a drug testing industry and fake urine industry. But neither the employer nor the worker benefit from the practice of drug testing. Furthermore the entire drug testing practice completely ignores the issues of pain and trauma that underlie the vast majority of substance use and employee wellness. 

Dr. Jeremy Milloy says, " Constructive coercion proceeds from a story that work and problematic substance use are disconnected... rather than acknowledging that drugs are helping people meet the demands of the job... The call is coming from inside the house."

Formerly known as Off the Clock Toolbox Talk, MusterPoint Off the Clock is worker driven, no BS, strength-based peer conversations about mental health in Canada's skilled trades.