CREW SMOKED POT ON FERRY, REPORT SAYS

BC Ferries Head Wants Mandatory Drug Testing

VICTORIA - BC Ferries president David Hahn is calling on the federal
government for mandatory drug testing after a safety board report
revealed some crew aboard the ill-fated Queen of the North regularly
smoked marijuana on and off the ship.

"Public safety over human rights," Mr. Hahn said. He wants the
federal government to legislate through Transport Canada mandatory
drug and alcohol testing.

In the meantime, he said he will "push the envelope" to better
enforce the company's zero-tolerance policy for illicit use of drugs
and alcohol.

As part of its investigation into the Queen of the North sinking in
March, 2006 -- 99 passengers and crew were rescued and two passengers
died -- the Transportation Safety Board found crew members admitted
that they "regularly smoked cannabis between shifts, both on board
and off the vessel."

The safety board's "concern," issued yesterday, stressed there's no
evidence that crew on the bridge at the time the ferry rammed into
Gil Island were impaired by drug use.

"Ferry crews whose performance is impaired by cannabis are a clear
risk to the travelling public," said Wendy A. Tadros, board
chairwoman. "We are confident that BC Ferries will determine the
extent of the problem and effectively manage this risk so it will not
lead to a serious accident."

Cannabis, a hallucinogen, can impair memory, attention, information
processing, multi-tasking and depth perception, said Scott Macdonald,
assistant director at the Centre for Addictions Research B.C.

"Cannabis use has been shown to affect the ability to quickly react
to complex or unexpected scenarios," the safety board report stated.

The impact of a single dose of marijuana is greatest during the
initial "high," after which the impairment reduces but may last 24 hours

Both Jackie Miller, president of the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers
Union, and Mr. Hahn agree there is an industry-wide concern about
impairment issues and that the company and union are working to
create policies to ensure rules around substance use are better
followed and enforced.

It's important to note that the safety board doesn't distinguish
whether the number of crew members smoking up means two, five or 20
people, Mr. Miller said.

In context, she said drug and alcohol use and abuse occurs throughout
Canadian society and that it would be "irrational and illogical" to
suggest the BC Ferries' 4,500 crew would not be a percentage of that
national figure.

The Queen of the North saga is always portrayed in the media as "a
sex, drugs and rock and roll kind of thing," Mr. Miller said.

"It's a titillating, interesting item that has arisen in the course
of the [safety board] interviews, but we would misrepresent the truth
if we were to suggest this is only a Queen of the North/BC Ferries
issue," Mr. Miller said.

"There are people throughout employment organizations who regularly
partake in cannabis use," he said. "This isn't just a BC Ferries
problem so it has to be looked at in that context."

Transport Canada regulates policies to prohibit drug and alcohol use
on the job, but spokeswoman Fiona MacLeod said the federal government
would be responsible for legislating mandatory testing.

According to Ms. MacLeod, the ferry company can require mandatory
testing, but Mr. Miller said both the company and union have already
discussed that and found human rights provisions won't allow for it.

She suggested B.C. Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon petition the
federal government for such change if he wants it.