A recent article published by HR Law Canada examined a British Columbia privacy decision involving a random drug dog search at an LNG construction site. A British Columbia adjudicator upheld a worker’s privacy complaint following a random drug dog search at an LNG construction site near Kitimat. The decision found that JGC Fluor BC LNG Joint Venture (JFJV), the project’s prime contractor, was not authorized under the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) to collect, use or disclose the worker’s personal information arising from the search.
During a random vehicle search in June 2023, a drug dog alerted on a vehicle carrying the complainant, although no drugs were found. After the alert was reported, the worker refused a requested drug and alcohol test, was dismissed by his employer, and was barred from the project site.
Moreover, the complainant argued that he had not consented to the drug dog search or to the collection, use, or disclosure of his personal information. The adjudicator found no evidence of valid consent, noting the absence of a signed acknowledgment or consent-to-search form and rejecting the employer’s reliance on onboarding documents and repeated site entry as evidence of consent. The complainant’s account that he was never asked to consent at the time of the search was accepted over the employer’s submissions.
The employer argued that consent was not required because the search fell within PIPA’s investigation exception. The adjudicator rejected this argument, finding that the random search was not based on a reasonable belief that the complainant had breached workplace rules or the law. In addition, the adjudicator also found that JFJV had failed to comply with PIPA’s privacy policy requirements. Although the company later implemented a privacy policy, it did not have one in place at the time of the search and its existing project documents were found to be insufficient.
Although the adjudicator found that JFJV had breached PIPA, no orders were made because the events had already occurred, the complainant was no longer employed on the project, and JFJV no longer administered the site’s random drug dog search program.
