ENERGY SECTOR PUSHES FOR DRUG TESTING

EDMONTON -- Alberta should consider amending its human rights law to allow
for random drug testing to make worksites safer, says a
government-appointed committee.

The recommendation is part of a report which was submitted to the province
in July 2003 but has not been made public.

The province should consider "legislative solutions: if such testing isn't
found to be justifiable under the Alberta Human Rights Act," says a copy of
the report obtained by The Canadian Press.

The government's perceived inaction on the issue prompted members of the
oil and gas sector to write a letter this month asking the province to
respond to the report as they grapple with how to deal with impaired employees.

"Employers are not aided when human rights commissions are making rulings
that employers cannot test their workers for drug or alcohol use," said
Patrick Delaney of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada. He helped
write the report and the letter.

"Our only recourse is to go to the politicians, have them review human
rights legislation and make some changes."

Other groups which worked on the report include the Construction Owners
Association of Alberta and the Alberta Building Trades Council.

If government doesn't take a firm position on testing, the issue is
expected to evolve based on court and tribunal decisions.

Alcohol and drug testing is a fact of life at some Alberta worksites,
especially in the energy and construction industries. Human rights
tribunals in Ontario and Alberta have ruled that employers can test workers
for justifiable reasons -- if they are in safety-sensitive positions, for
example, or after an accident.

While there are no rules governing testing, the Alberta Human Rights
Commission says blanket random testing is discriminatory.

Tribunals also ruled that employees who test positive can't be
automatically fired. It's been suggested someone with a substance
dependency is considered to suffer from a disability and should be offered
treatment.

These rulings limit the options of companies trying to deal with employees
who are impaired on the job by alcohol, marijuana and hard drugs, such as
crystal meth, said Delaney.

"This is equipment that is very unforgiving," he said. "One slip and you've
got a fatality. And in a worst-case scenario you could have a catastrophic
event.

"The right of someone for a safe worksite trumps your right to have a drink
or shoot up or snort something."

Last June, Clint Dunford, then Alberta's minister of human resources, said
he would like to see mandatory drug testing within five years. Dunford was
replaced in the portfolio by Mike Cardinal following November's provincial
election.

The Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission opposes random testing.