Pubdate: Thu, 18 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: Rob Shaw and Cindy E. Harnett, CanWest News Service Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Marijuana - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) FORCED DRUG TESTING OPENS UP LEGAL, ETHICAL ISSUES VICTORIA -- Forcing employees to take drug tests at work is a contentious issue, complicated by human rights legislation, contradictory court rulings and American economic pressure, say industry representatives and civil liberties experts. BC Ferries president David Hahn said Wednesday Canada should move to follow the U.S. in workplace drug testing. Such testing has increased dramatically in North America over the past 20 years, but chiefly in the U.S., where 95 per cent of the top Fortune 500 companies have programs in place. But in Canada, the situation remains legally and ethically unclear. The federal government's Human Rights Commission prohibits discrimination on the basis of a disability, which includes drug or alcohol addiction. It used to clearly oppose pre-employment and random drug tests. But it is reviewing those policies after recent court rulings, says its 2006 annual report. The commission has yet to release new guidelines. "Testing reveals all kinds of personal information that has nothing to do with drugs," said Murray Mollard, executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association. For example, it can disclose a person's private medical condition or pregnancy, he said. As well, being watched urinating into a cup is degrading and intrusive, he said. Canadian courts have sent mixed messages regarding the legality of drug testing in the workplace. Alberta courts recently overruled a pre-employment drug test policy by Kellogg Brown & Root Company after a recreational marijuana user failed the test and wasn't hired. The case is under appeal. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice upheld Weyerhaeuser's drug-testing policy last year. B.C. supports drug testing, Premier Gordon Campbell said Wednesday. As for BC Ferries, he said: "I think everyone deserves to know that people are in no way impaired in terms of carrying out their operational obligations." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake