Pubdate: Fri, 19 Oct 2007
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2007 The Vancouver Sun
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Fiona Anderson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

LAW ALLOWS MANDATORY DRUG TESTS, MINISTER SAYS

Lawrence Cannon Says BC Ferries Should Start Testing Immediately

VICTORIA -- BC Ferries has the power to do employee drug testing, 
federal Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon says.

And, he adds, he "wants results now."

In an e-mail to reporters, Cannon said he would write to all ferry 
operators to remind them of their powers related to regular drug 
testing of employees.

He also urged BC Ferries to review the effectiveness of their alcohol 
and drug policies.

"Canada's government has a clear 'tough on drugs' agenda and wants 
results now regarding the use of cannabis by employees on BC Ferries' 
northern fleet," Cannon wrote.

The Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday it found several crew 
members of the Queen of the North regularly smoked cannabis between 
shifts, both on board and off the vessel. The crew lived on board 
while on duty or on call.

The ferry sank March 22, 2006, when the crew failed to make a key 
change of course and crashed the vessel into Gil Island on B.C.'s 
northwestern coast. Two people are still missing and presumed drowned.

The TSB said Wednesday it had no evidence the crew on the bridge at 
the time of the sinking was impaired.

In response to the report, BC Ferries president and CEO David Hahn 
called on Cannon to give ferry operators the power to conduct 
mandatory drug and alcohol testing on all employees in safety 
sensitive positions.

But BC Ferries already has that power under the Canadian human rights 
commission policy on alcohol and drug testing, Transport Canada 
spokesperson Fiona MacLeod said in an interview.

"It's the prerogative of a company if they feel safety is at risk to 
implement a drug testing program," MacLeod said. "And I don't think 
[BC Ferries] realizes that."

But Hahn said BC Ferries is already doing everything it can under 
current legislation. And while it plans to do even more to educate 
employees and harden current policies, "we're still looking ... for 
the extra support that can be out there and can come from the federal 
government," Hahn said in an interview.

And that support is legislation that enables BC Ferries to test for 
drug use in appropriate circumstances, such as safety sensitive jobs, 
or reasonable cause, Hahn said.

"Nobody's looking to go on a witch hunt. ... All we're looking for is 
every possible tool to maximize safety," he said.

But even the policy relied upon by Transport Canada appears only to 
allow random alcohol, and not drug, testing of employees.

"Random drug testing is prohibited because, given its technical 
limitations, drug testing can only detect the presence of drugs and 
not if or when an employee may have been impaired by drug use," the 
policy says.

Drug testing may be allowed when there are reasonable grounds to 
believe there is an underlying problem of abuse or where an accident 
has occurred due to impairment.

Murray Mollard, executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties 
Association, agrees drug testing doesn't measure impairment. It's not 
like a breathalyser that measures blood-alcohol levels for which 
there is a standard that indicates impairment, Mollard said.

"What it will tell you is that some time in the recent past this 
person had ingested a particular drug," Mollard said.

And impairment can occur for a number of reasons, like lack of sleep, 
mental health, as well as alcohol or drug use, he said.

Mollard suggests going to "the old standard -- human observation. I 
don't think there's ever a replacement for that," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom