Toronto transit workers face drug tests

City council approves tests if reasonable suspicion of impairment exists

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) has adopted a fitness-for-duty policy that allows for drug tests of employees suspected of being impaired on the job.

The nine city councillors who oversee the TTC, however, rejected the use of random drug tests after hearing from unions and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

But union members will refuse to submit to drug testing unless the specifics of the policy are approved by the bargaining unit, said Bob Kinnear, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113.

Under the proposal, new applicants will be tested, and employees will be tested if there is a reasonable suspicion of impairment, after an incident or accident, if the person has a past violation for drug or alcohol use on the job or before an individual who has undergone treatment for addiction returns to work.

A TTC investigation found four employees showed up for work under the influence of drugs or alcohol in the first six months of 2008, and another 35 incidents of impairment since 2006.

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