RANDOM DRUG TESTING URGED

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

The recommendation is part of a report 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 the
report, a copy of which was obtained by The Canadian Press.

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

Such positions have hamstrung companies as they try to deal with employees
who show up impaired from alcohol, marijuana and hard drugs such as crystal
meth, Mr. Delaney said.

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

"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. Mr. Dunford
was moved to another department after the November provincial election.

That same month the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission updated its
position on drug testing, making it clear the agency doesn't favour random
tests.

"AADAC does not recommend alcohol and drug testing for employees unless
there is evidence that substance abuse is compromising workplace safety,"
the agency says.

Mike Cardinal, Mr. Dunford's successor, declined interview requests about
the report and the letter.

"He wants more time. It is being reviewed right now," said department
spokesman Chris Chodan.

The issue has split Alberta's labour movement.

Mark McCullough, president of the Alberta Building Trades Council, helped
write the report. He said random tests are justified if they fall within
the context of a comprehensive employee treatment program.

"My personal opinion is that safety takes precedence over the right to be
impaired at a worksite," Mr. McCullough said.

Don MacNeil of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union said there
is no proof random testing is effective.

In 2002, an AADAC survey suggested 11 per cent of employees in Alberta
reported using alcohol at work, while 1 per cent reported using drugs.

Marie Riddle, director of the Alberta Human Rights Commission, said
employees have filed testing complaints and she expects to see more.

"There is no question that safety in the workplace is important. But so are
the rights of people with disabilities," she said.