ENFORCE YOUR OWN DRUG POLICY, B.C. FERRIES TOLD

Cannon Warns Company He Wants Results Now

Federal Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon wants B.C. Ferries to stop
complaining about the need for mandatory drug-testing laws and
immediately enforce its own zero-tolerance policy.

Cannon's stern statement came yesterday in the wake of a public
warning from the Transportation Safety Board about ongoing use of
marijuana by ferry crew on the company's northern routes.

The board also said it fell to the company to determine if it had a
problem on other routes as well.

Cannon said yesterday he "wants results now" on the northern routes.

He urged the company to "act swiftly and efficiently" on the TSB's
concerns, to "review the effectiveness of its alcohol/drug policy" --
the same language the TSB used -- and warned that he was waiting see
what the review would produce.

In a letter dated Wednesday and sent to both Cannon and B.C. Ferries
president David Hahn, the TSB warned that marijuana use between
shifts -- on board the northern live-aboard vessels and while crew
are ashore -- was a safety risk.

The concern arose during interviews about the sinking of the Queen of
the North in March 2006, the board said.

TSB chairwoman Wendy Tadros said the board had learned some crew
regularly smoked marijuana between shifts and senior crew regularly
failed to deal with the problem -- which, in essence, was widely
known but infrequently addressed.

The board suggested the company enforce the two-year-old no-alcohol,
no-drug policy on its books. Because it cannot order the company to
act, it instead provided a list of ways that other companies manage
to deal with their own workforces, including clear policies,
effective supervision, education, employee assistance programs and
reporting systems.

The board noted that the company had a system of reporting but it
required employees providing information about drug use -- their own
or others' -- to sign their names to a form.

Following release of the letter, Hahn told reporters the company's
hands are tied until Canada passes laws permitting mandatory and
random testing of employees, as is done in the United States.

But he admitted the company's policy had been effective enough to let
it fire a number of employees.

Canadian superior courts have rejected mandatory drug testing for
marijuana because presently available tests detect only past use --
which could date back weeks -- and not actual impairment levels at
the time the test is administered.

Charter of Rights challenges have also forced dismissal of such testing.