On June 15, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada released its
decision in Stewart v Elk Valley Coal Corp., and
in so doing, made it easier for employers to terminate drug users
who violate workplace drug and alcohol policies.
The employer, Elk Valley Coal Corporation, operated an open pit
coal mine near Hinton, Alberta. To ensure a safe workplace, the
employer introduced an Alcohol, Illegal Drugs and Medication Policy
(the “Policy”). The purpose of the
Policy was to encourage employees who were using illegal drugs to
stop, and to remove that safety risk from the workplace by
motivating employees to change their behaviour before an accident
occurred. The Policy did so through a “No Free
Accident” rule: employees were expected to disclose
dependence or addiction issues before an incident occurred, and if
they did, were offered treatment. However, if an employee did not
disclose a drug dependency prior to an accident occurring and the
employee subsequently tested positive
