FERRIES BOSS CALLS FOR DRUG TESTS

Says Safety Trumps Crew's Rights; Some Queen Of North Crew Members
'Regularly' Smoked Pot, Safety Board Says

B.C. Ferries president David Hahn wants the federal government to
legislate mandatory drug testing in the wake of a safety-board report
that found some crew members of the ill-fated Queen of the North
regularly smoked marijuana on and off the ship.

"Public safety over human rights," Hahn said yesterday, as he called
on the Transportation Safety Board to recommend to Ottawa that ferry
operators be given the power to conduct tests on employees in
safety-sensitive positions.

While the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers Union criticized the move as
an attack on civil rights, president Jackie Miller did say she
encourages, and would participate in, a national discussion of
mandatory testing as part of an overall impairment policy in the
marine industry. And if testing was made law, the union would abide
by it, she said.

However, Miller cautioned against "knee-jerk" reactions to the safety
board report released yesterday into the sinking of the Queen of the
North in March 2006.

As part of its investigation into the sinking -- which claimed two
lives -- the Transportation Safety Board found crew members
"regularly smoked cannabis between shifts, both on board and off the
vessel," although the board didn't specify the number of crew members
using the drug.

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

The safety board has not yet released its full report on the cause of
the sinking, but said the information on drug use was enough to
prompt a warning to B.C. Ferries to find out if it had problems on
other ships and to address the issue with new policies.

The board stressed there's no evidence of impairment in the two crew
members -- the helmswoman and fourth officer, who had a previous
romantic relationship -- allegedly on the bridge when the ferry
rammed into Gil Island and sank on its route from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy.

An internal B.C. Ferries investigation blamed human error for the
sinking, concluding that the bridge crew kept "a casual watchstanding
behaviour" by playing music and turning the lights down, the fourth
officer failed to alter course, and the helmswoman couldn't find the
switch to turn off the autopilot.

Hahn said yesterday that he wanted drug testing done on the evening
of the accident, but investigators denied his request.

However, Miller argued that had the RCMP seen signs the crew members
were impaired, they would have been tested, and the union wouldn't
have opposed the measure.

Currently, the ferry corporation has a zero-tolerance policy toward
substance use and impairment on the job, and has fired employees who
contravened it.

Cannabis, a hallucinogenic, 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 stated.

Miller and Hahn agree impairment is an industry-wide concern.

The company and union are working on better policies -- including
awareness and education programs -- to ensure compliance and
enforcement. The co-operation between the company and the union seems
to indicate a period of smoother sailing for the two sides after
months of acrimony following the sinking.

Drug and alcohol use and abuse is Canada-wide and it would be
"irrational and illogical" to suggest B.C. Ferries' 4,500-strong crew
would not be affected, Miller said.

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

"We would misrepresent the truth if we were to suggest this is only a
Queen of the North/B.C. Ferries issue," Miller said. "There are
people throughout employment organizations who regularly partake in
cannabis use."

According to Transport Canada spokeswoman Fiona MacLeod, regulations
prohibit drug and alcohol use on the job by employees, but mandatory
testing would have to be legislated by the federal government.

Premier Gordon Campbell said Canada has a different legal regime than
in the United States, where such testing is common, and can't easily
mandate such change.

"But I can tell you this province is going to work very closely with
the national government and the Transportation Safety Board to make
sure that we put in place an appropriate measure to make sure that
people are safe in our transportation systems," Campbell said.