Random Drug Testing Allowed in Canada

Drug testing beneficial for companies with dangerous work sites

Source: Howard Levitt, Canwest News Service  Published: Saturday, July 05, 2008

The following highlights the importants of testing with oral fluid, a technology that determines recent drug use and better correlates with blood testing vs. urine.

It also, notes that workplace drug testing is an important safety tool, and despite some misconceptions – random workplace drug testing is NOT illegal in Canada.

Basic ruling – As a matter of public safety, if caught, they should lose their right to operate a motor vehicle. Employees who use illicit drugs should not be in the workplace performing hazardous tasks. The court refused to extend human rights protection when safety is at risk.

 

From a single phone interview, John Chiasson secured a lucrative job on a Fort McMurray construction project.

There was only one catch: The offer was conditional on passing a drug test. Chiasson had smoked marijuana five days before the test. He figured it would have cleared his system. He was wrong.

Kellogg Brown & Root believed having a potentially impaired worker on a dangerous work site created serious safety risks. Chiasson was fired.

In response, he filed a human rights complaint which was upheld by the Human Rights Commission. It said Kellogg’s drug policy was to prevent cannabis addicts from being hired. This, it concluded, discriminated on the basis of disability. Determined to fire employees using drugs or alcohol on its dangerous construction sites, Kellogg appealed. (Interesting and likely unsupportable premise by the court, as cannabis is generally beleived to be non-addictive !)

The Alberta Court of Appeal viewed banning casual drug use by employees in the same fashion as prohibiting drinking and driving. As the court noted, just because someone drinks and drives a company vehicle does not mean they are alcoholics and therefore protected by human rights. ( Clearly a more reasonable and supportable position.)

As a matter of public safety, if caught, they should lose their right to operate a motor vehicle. Employees who use illicit drugs should not be in the workplace performing hazardous tasks. The court refused to extend human rights protection when safety is at risk.

This is a major departure from earlier cases that found drug testing acceptable only where the employer proves the employee tested was impaired while performing his duties. Previously, general or random drug testing was largely prohibited. The Alberta Court of Appeal imposed no such requirement.

Drug testing is justified to accomplish the legitimate goal of a safe workplace free of impairment.