In a Flash | Suncor’s Random Drug and Alcohol Testing Program Remains on Hold – Court of Appeal Upholds Injunction Decision
In a recent decision, 2018 ABCA 75, the Alberta Court of Appeal has upheld a decision of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, in which the lower Court granted an injunction sought by Unifor, Local 707A (the “Union”) preventing Suncor from implementing random drug and alcohol testing at its Wood Buffalo site in northern Alberta.
The dispute between Suncor and the Union concerning the random drug and alcohol testing program (the “Testing Program”) has a long procedural history dating back to Suncor’s implementation of the Testing Program in 2012. The Union grieved the management decision to implement the Testing Program on the basis that it was an unnecessary invasion of employee privacy rights, taking the matter to arbitration.
While the arbitration panel upheld the Union’s grievance, that decision was ultimately overturned by the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, and the Court of Appeal. The matter was sent back to a new arbitration panel. That decision has now been appealed by the Union to the Supreme Court of Canada.
In this article we review the history and developments in the Suncor random testing battle with Unifor Local 707A.
If you have any questions about this topic or any other questions relating to workplace law, please do not hesitate to contact a Mathews Dinsdale lawyer.
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