B.C. FERRIES CLEARS THE AIR ON DRUG-TESTING POLICY

New Rules Clarify Reasons For Conducting Mandatory Tests For Alcohol
And Drug Use

B.C. Ferries is implementing a new mandatory drug and alcohol testing
policy in the wake of the sinking of the Queen of the North and a
safety board warning that crew regularly smoked marijuana between
shifts and off the ship.

"B.C. Ferries now has a clear policy that if we have another major
incident there will be mandatory company drug and alcohol and
medication testing," said Mark Stefanson, B.C. Ferries spokesman. "It
was a grey area when the Queen of the North incident happened."

Until now, the ferry corporation had a drug and alcohol policy and a
zero-tolerance policy for substance use and abuse for live-aboard
vessels, and fired employees who contravened it. However, it didn't
have a clear policy on mandatory testing, Stefanson said.

The new five-page wellness and substance abuse policy was delivered
with a letter to all employees from B.C. Ferries president David Hahn
on Feb. 6.

The new policy includes three circumstances under which the company
can ask employees to pee in a cup to prove they are sober. Those
include reasonable cause, post-significant event, or random testing
for employees returning to work after demonstrated abuse or
dependency. Drug and alcohol testing is generally done with either
blood or urine samples.

"It clearly indicates where there's a [significant] incident or where
we suspect there's a drug or alcohol issue that's potentially
affecting safety or a serious issue we can require mandatory drug and
alcohol tests," Stefanson said.

B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers' Union president Jackie Miller says the
policy just puts into formal practice what has been the standard:
"It's currently what is being done at B.C. Ferries and has
historically been done."

As part of its investigation into the sinking -- in which two people
died -- the Transportation Safety Board in October 2007 warned that
some crew members "regularly smoked cannabis between shifts, both on
board and off the vessel."

There was no evidence Queen of the North bridge crew members --
helmswoman Karen Bricker and fourth officer Karl Lilgert -- were
impaired when the ferry rammed into Gil Island en route from Prince
Rupert to Port Hardy in March 2006.

However, the safety board warned B.C. Ferries to determine the extent
of the problem of substance use and abuse and effectively manage its
risk "so it will not lead to a serious accident."

At the time of the sinking, Hahn asked that the crew undergo drug
testing, but investigators denied his request. Such testing is
mandatory and random in the U.S. transportation industry, but in
Canada it remains ethically and legally unclear.

The RCMP would have tested if they believed there was cause, Miller
said. "Or if they felt the results would have been supportable in a
court of law -- given there was a very substantial period of time
between the sinking of the vessel and the RCMP to have access to any
of the individuals on the ship," she said. "The tests probably would
have been rendered null and void in terms of evidence," Miller said.

Hahn demanded the federal government legislate mandatory testing but
Federal Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon said in an e-mail to the
corporation that it already had the power to test: "The government
urges B.C. Ferries to act swiftly and efficiently to address any
concerns by the TSB."

B.C. Ferries has now strengthened that policy but "we are still
hopeful the Transportation Safety Board is going to include a
recommendation that will encourage the federal government to give all
ferry operators in Canada, and transportation companies, the ability
to have mandatory drug and alcohol testing that won't be subjected to
challenges under human rights legislation," Stefanson said.

In addition to human rights legislation, some provincial courts have
overruled pre-employment drug policies. Meanwhile, opponents of drug
testing say a positive test only shows that a drug has been used at
some time in the past but doesn't indicate when.