FORMER POULTRY WORKER'S EI WIN SPOTLIGHTS SOFTER LINE ON MARIJUANA

Three Years After Being Fired For Smoking A Joint, Court Grants Man Full
Benefits

Canada's tolerance toward marijuana has reached a new high, at least for
Gary Locke.

About three years ago, Mr. Locke was just finishing his shift at an Ontario
poultry plant when he lit up a joint. His boss caught him and fired him on
the spot.

Mr. Locke, who had worked at the plant for about eight years, applied for
employment insurance benefits. He was promptly turned down.

One EI official dismissed his application by saying: "Mr. Locke should be
expected to be aware of what is and what is not acceptable behaviour and
that it was not unreasonable for the employer to have a zero tolerance
policy regarding the use of illegal drugs."

After a series of appeals, Mr. Locke took his case to the Federal Court of
Canada and won.

The court found that the company, Horizon Poultry, had not explicitly told
employees that they would be dismissed if caught smoking up. It also ruled
that other employees at the plant had been caught smoking dope and only
warned, not dismissed. Therefore, Mr. Locke's behaviour was not "such a
fundamental breach of the employer/employee relationship that any employee
must have known that, if apprehended, he was likely to be dismissed without
warning," the court ruled in a decision made public this week.

"Although engaging in criminal conduct on an employer's premises may
warrant dismissal, smoking a joint of marijuana in the circumstances of
this case was not misconduct within the meaning [of EI legislation] because
it was not willful or reckless," the court said.

It ordered EI officials to reconsider Mr. Locke's application. He received
full benefits.

"I've never had a case like this," said Liam O'Brien, a lawyer in St.
John's who represented Mr. Locke (he returned to Newfoundland shortly after
being fired).

"I was pleasantly surprised to tell you the truth," Mr. O'Brien added.

He said a key factor in the case was Canada's new softer line on marijuana.

The court "did touch upon the fact that at that time, in Ontario anyway,
judges weren't even touching possession cases," he said. "It was more from
the point of view of not saying that it's something that society accepts
now, but society doesn't condemn it as much any more."

Mr. O'Brien said he knows some people will find the decision outrageous.
"Yes, that's generally what people do think. But you are talking about
somebody who has paid into EI benefits for eight and a half years and makes
a mistake and now he can't get any benefits. You look at it from that way
of thinking, he's out of a job now and he's already paid in for benefits
and hoped that he could be insured in the future if he loses his job."

Mr. Locke was unavailable for comment. Mr. O'Brien said he hadn't found
work since his dismissal from the chicken plant in October, 2000. However,
because the case dragged on so long, he received a lump sum cheque from EI
for about $10,000 representing the full benefits he was entitled to from
the date of his dismissal.

When asked if Mr. Locke had given up marijuana, Mr. O'Brien laughed and
replied: "I couldn't answer that one if I knew. That's about all I can tell
you."

Horizon Poultry has since been taken over by Schneider Corp.