We have been following court rulings in the area of employee drug and alcohol testing. There has been a gray cloud, over the industry, with some people thinking that drug testing is a violation of human rights and others thinking that it is necessary for a safe and healthy workplace. Canada appears to be divided, by the east and west, with provinces in the west, mainly Alberta, favoring drug testing, and eastern provinces, mainly Ontario, favoring the side of employees. I wanted to update everyone to what has been happening in one of the monumental cases.
When we last touched on the monumental case of Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) vs. Chiasson, the Alberta Court of Appeal had ruled in favor of KBR. This ruling has helped to establish legal precedent for the validity of drug and alcohol testing in Alberta. In May 2008, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected an application by the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission’s to appeal the ruling further strengthening the argument for pre-employment drug and alcohol testing.
The Human Rights and Citizen’s Commision contended that KBR had discriminated against Mr. Chiasson on the basis of a perceived disability (drug addtiction). However, the Court of Appeal ruled that Mr. Chiasson is not classified as a disabled person as he is a self-admitted recreational user of marijuana. Upon termination of employment, KBR did not perceive Mr. Chiasson as a drug addict and therefore had no basis to discriminate based on perceived disability. The Alberta Court of Appeal stated that, “Extending human rights protections to situations in placing the lives of others at risk flies in the face of logic. KBR’s policy . . . perceives that persons who use drugs at all are a safety risk in an already dangerous workplace.”
The rejection of appeal by the Supreme Court is a step in the right direction towards pre-employment drug and alcohol testing. However, work remains to lobby the Alberta government to integrate this decision into the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Human Right’s, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Act.
Only time will tell, if and when a national precedant will be set in Canada. “Here’s to a step in the right direction.”