In December of 2021, an Ontario arbitrator ruled that an employer’s total prohibition of medical cannabis for a safety-sensitive position was discriminatory. Specifically, an Ontario labour board arbitrator had ruled that the employer, Ornge, must attempt to accommodate an aircraft maintenance engineer in Timmins who had been prescribed medicinal cannabis. The employer, Ornge Air in … Continued
Continue ReadingIn a notice of motion introduced by two Winnipeg city councillors, Sherri Rollins and Markus Chambers, the city’s chief administrative officer (CAO) has been requested to work with the federal government on receiving an exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. In recent months, the cities of Toronto and Vancouver have already made such … Continued
Continue ReadingHealth Canada has granted conditional approval for a plan for a supervised drug Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) site in downtown Peterborough. Accordingly, the CTS site has received federal exemption to allow the use of illegal drugs on its premises, which is conditional on a site visit and proof of funding. The site is projected … Continued
Continue ReadingIn recent months, Unifor members working on Marine Atlantic ferries have spoken out against being unfairly targeted for random alcohol testing. Unifor, a general trade union in Canada and the largest private sector union in Canada has approximately 310,000 workers and associate members in numerous industries. In June of this year, a letter to the … Continued
Continue ReadingWith recent rollouts of COVID-19 vaccines ramping up and employers gearing up for their staff to return to the office in the fall, many employers are questioning whether they are allowed to require new hires to show proof of vaccination. According to a blog article published by the Atlantic law firm McInnes Cooper, since the … Continued
Continue ReadingThe Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench has recently issued a decision on Phillips v. Westcan Bulk Transport Ltd, upholding a non-unionized employer’s use of random drug and alcohol testing in Alberta for safety sensitive positions. This decision provides further clarity and guidance regarding express employee agreement on random drug and alcohol testing. Specifically, the court … Continued
Continue ReadingAccording to a statement from Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart, the city’s officials and Health Canada plan to initiate a formal discussion on the city’s plan to decriminalize simple possession of illicit drugs. Currently, Vancouver’s overdose crisis is at its peak, 2020 was the deadliest year so far in terms of drug-related overdose deaths in the … Continued
Continue ReadingIn a series of recent arbitration decisions regarding legal testing for post-incident alcohol and drug testing, Arbitrators Andrew Sims and David McPhillips have reviewed and provided clarification for the legal test for post-incident alcohol and drug testing. The series of these arbitration decisions include Vancouver Shipyards Co. v. Construction Maintenance and Allied Workers, Local 506 … Continued
Continue ReadingEarlier in August, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) released new guidelines, the PPSC Deskbook, for prosecuting the illegal possession of controlled substances under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. As part of the new guidelines, federal prosecutors pursuing charges for illegal drug use are now urged to only criminally prosecute individuals with the … Continued
Continue ReadingThe Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador has recently overturned a decision of the lower court, which had upheld an arbitration award on judicial review. Consequently, three separate reasons were issued by the Court of Appeal addressing undue hardship limits of accommodation which should be considered by employers regarding impairment from medication in safety-sensitive … Continued
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