cannabisnews.com: Oil Company Defends Drug Tests





Oil Company Defends Drug Tests
Posted by CN Staff on July 11, 2002 at 08:55:01 PT
By Dan Palmer, Edmonton Sun
Source: Edmonton Sun
One of the world's largest crude oil producers defended its employee drug-testing practices yesterday as a federal watchdog unveiled a new policy banning most workplace drug tests. "We certainly abide by all laws of the land," said Cherry Holand, a spokesman for Syncrude Canada. The Canadian Human Rights Commission yesterday announced a new policy that says random drug and alcohol testing of workers and pre-screening of potential new staff are human rights abuses. 
"This means, with very few exceptions, drug testing in the workplace is not permissible," said commission spokesman Catherine Barratt. The change affects federally regulated public and private-sector employers such as interprovincial trucking companies, airlines, telecommunications companies like Telus, the RCMP and the Canadian military, said Barratt. The Alberta government has a similar policy with jurisdiction over such employers as oil companies, said Barratt. An Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission fact sheet says that random, blanket drug testing of employees or prospective employees is discriminatory. "A random drug test by an employer would be contravening Alberta's human rights legislation, but each case must be looked at individually," said Marie Riddle, director of the Alberta commission. Both federal and provincial commissions say that drug and alcohol testing is allowed if reasonable grounds exist, such as an employee showing signs of impairment on the job. Holand said Syncrude doesn't do pre-employment drug testing and doesn't do random drug testing. The company does test new employees, who know about the procedure as part of their hiring, she said. "As part of your health and safety, you go through a medical, which includes an alcohol and drug test," said Holand. She said she didn't know whether all employees go through the testing. Holand said she sees a distinction between drug testing for prospective employees and testing that's done as part of the hiring process. "I know Syncrude operates in the letter of the law," she said. Riddle said it's possible random drug testing is happening in the province without the commission's knowledge. "Gosh, yes ... we have a complaints-based system," she said, adding the commission doesn't go out and check workplaces for human-rights violations. The federal watchdog's policy change came in response to such cases as an Ontario court decision involving a worker at Imperial Oil Ltd. who admitted to a previous drug problem. When his admission led to control board operator Martin Entrop being reassigned, he filed a human rights complaint alleging discrimination because of a handicap. Imperial Oil is one of nine companies that owns Syncrude. Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB) Author: Dan Palmer, Edmonton SunPublished: Thursday, July 11, 2002 Copyright: 2002 Canoe Limited PartnershipContact: sun.letters ccinet.ab.ca Website: http://www.fyiedmonton.com/htdocs/edmsun.shtmlCanadian Human Rights Commissionhttp://www.chrc-ccdp.ca/CannabisNews Drug Testing Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/drug_testing.shtml
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Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on July 11, 2002 at 11:51:58 PT:
It doesn't have to be contagious...
just economically attractive.Attractive to immigrants, that is.How many people across the US would literally jump at the chance to move to a country with sensible drug laws? How many of those are amongst the leading edge of technology and business maintenence? How mnany of those would be sorely missed by the anally control-freak corporations in the US who have gone too far in trying to insert themselves into your private life?.I've mentioned it before;I can't speak for other fields, but there are lots of people in the US IT field who smoke. I don't have firm figures, but I would guesstimate that at least a solid third do on a regular basis. That's a lot of professional people without whom contemporary businesses cannot do without. And because of their treatment at the hands of Korporate Amerika, have no particular loyalty to a system that trumpets itself as being 'free'...while demanding you stand and deliver waste bodily fluids under the threat of becoming pauperized if you refuse...Now, imagine if, say, Canada, decided that it wanted to attract high-tech skilled people? They have high taxes, yes. They have what amounts to a kind of socialism, yes. But they also respect your human rights.The choice is becoming easier all the time, no? 
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Comment #3 posted by WolfgangWylde on July 11, 2002 at 09:14:24 PT
Contagious? Doesn't matter if it is...
...U.S. politicians are specifically immune to common sense (not to mention particularly beholden to the multi-million dollar drug testing industry).
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Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on July 11, 2002 at 09:06:03 PT
Translation into English
[i]"As part of your health and safety, you go through a medical, which includes an alcohol and drug test," said Holand
[/i]As part of our company's urge to control its labor force, we force you through a procedure that we can use to detect facts about your personal life that we think might lose us money but we're not sure.
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Comment #1 posted by TroutMask on July 11, 2002 at 08:57:46 PT
Amazing!
"The Canadian Human Rights Commission yesterday announced a new policy that says random drug and alcohol testing of workers and pre-screening of potential new staff are human rights abuses."Wowie Zowie! There sure is an awful rash of common sense and decency happening up north! I sure hope it's contagious!-TM
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