Should oilpatch workers, including those in West Central Alberta, be forced to undergo random drug and alcohol testing as a condition of their employment?
That question has been raised anew in the province following an Alberta Court of Appeal ruling last week.
On Oct. 23 the court issued a ruling temporarily upholding a lower court injunction preventing a new random drug- and alcohol-testing program of Suncor Energy employees.
The ruling means that until a full hearing takes place on Nov. 28 the company's plans to start screening more than 3,000 employees for drug and alcohol use on the job is on the shelf.
The new random testing program was set to start on Oct. 15. However, three days earlier a Court of Queen's Bench Justice halted the program pending a ruling by an arbitration board into a union grievance against the program.
Ritu Khullar, a lawyer for the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada Local 707, says random drug tests can cause “psychological trauma” for workers.
“This is about the right to preserve their bodily integrity, quite frankly; their privacy, their dignity,” said Khullar.
On the other hand, the company argues that a random drug and alcohol testing policy could ensure the safety of all staff.
“The Suncor workplace is inherently a dangerous space,” said Suncor lawyer Tom Wakeling. “The consequences of mistakes in this hazardous environment may include catastrophes.”
As one of the province's key economic drivers, the oil and gas industry is responsible for supporting many rural communities, both directly through spending and indirectly though taxation that goes to support health care, education and a myriad of other public programs.
As such the health and well-being of the workers in that industry is a matter of high public interest.
At the same time those same workers face one of the most potentially dangerous work environments anywhere, with many potential hazards for workers and even for the public at large.
There currently is no provincewide rule that oilpatch workers be required to submit to random drug and alcohol tests. Whether such a rule would lead to an even safer oil industry remains an open question.
With the matter now before the courts, it's time for the Redford government to start taking a lead on this issue, determining whether or not a provincewide random drug and alcohol testing policy would be a net benefit to Alberta.
Leaving the matter unresolved is sure to lead to more and more legal fights, at the same time creating uncertainty about the safety of oilpatch workers everywhere.
