Drug tests coming to the oil sands this fall

Michael Allan McCrae | June 22, 2012 | 5:10 am Energy Canada 

Despite misgivings by unions, random drug and alcohol testing for oil sands workers will get underway later this year.

The Drug and Alcohol Risk Reduction Pilot Project (DARRPP), a stakeholder group of major industry employers and others, is organizing the program since the group believes that random drug testing is a goody way to prevent accidents.

“Substances such as alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine can lead to increased risks on work sites, particularly in safety-sensitive positions such as heavy equipment operators and construction and maintenance trades, where a fleeting moment of inattention or a slow reaction can lead to a tragic outcome,” says DARRPP in a news release.

Some of the companies taking part in the pilot program are Suncor, Total and Canadian Natural Resources

Union representatives are not happy with the program.

“Random drug testing shatters our privacy, destroys our dignity, and eliminates trust in our fellow workers and management,” says Dave Coles, president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada.

“And there is little evidence to link random drug testing results to less substance abuse or a safer workplace.

The CEP would prefer to see employees have wider access to substance abuse programs.

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7 Comments

  • Buisness Solutions

    I am behind this 100 %. When you are at the mercy of someone who has decided that a “hoot” or a “shot” is more important than safety, it is time for them to go. There are thousands of people looking for work and why keep someone who has no respect for their fellow employees on the working field and who could potentially cost the business thousands of dollars to help ” break their habits.”. Good for Suncor, CNLR and the others for standing their ground.

  • Scojoc

    There has been drug testing for decades; they are implementing a random testing system.. that is what the news is.

  • Fannymaycartwright

    Safety? Yes, and apple pie and motherhood, and the flag. All you got to do is get a sanctimonious and meddlesome bunch of suits together, and voila, they take a “vote” to justify violating working mens’ privacy wholesale, probable cause or not. What’s needed here is a Magna Carta for blue-collar people, the big-cheeses need to be put in their place; you know, the same place as fleas and leeches and other parasites…

  • Rob Revet

    Why would anyone want too work and be under the influence. Would they rather just be sent home with no pay cheque.

  • Fivecatsondrugs

    everybody has gotten high in this country its like divorce was in the 50s

  • Derekbuzzi

    Everywhere else is doing it to improve safety why not there?

  • Chriss taylor

    a good move we have this in our new zealand mines,i dont want to be working in my grader with trucks moving around me and maybe a driver a bit under it because hes been on the dope the night befor,
    you should have been doing this a while ago.

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