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Tuesday, August 20, 2013 X Volume 26 No. 66
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Company defends use of drug-detection dogs JV Driver spokesman: ‘Our goal is to maintain a safe site and get the workers home safe’ By Cavelle Layes STAFF REPORTER reporter@kamloopsthisweek.com
A company contracted to work at Highland Valley Copper Mine near Logan Lake hired drug-detection dogs after it received credible information there were possible banned substances on the work site. JV Driver Installations Inc. used the canines on the job site last week. Sources working for the company, who requested their names not be printed, told KTW the two days of searches followed safety concerns occurred on the job. After numerous calls from KTW, JV Driver responded to questions via email. “JVD Installations Inc.’s focus is on ensuring the safety of our people and others on site,” company spokesman Boyd Mitchell said. “Industrial construction work-
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ers face unique risks when they go to work every day and, if we can deter drug use in safetysensitive environments, the outcome is a simply a safer place to work.” Richard Boyce is the representative of the United Steelworkers Union 7619, which represents workers at Highland Valley, but not JV Driver employees. Boyce said there were other methods that could have been taken that would have better respected the company’s employees. “If I was a representative of their union, I would have a huge problem with this,” Boyce said. Boyce noted discussions with James Leland, the business manager with the contractors’ union, Ironworkers Local 97, revealed the company didn’t contact the union before the search. Mitchell said JV Driver did its best not to cross any lines.
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“All searches were conducted in the least obtrusive manner possible,” Mitchell said. While sources told KTW some employees were sent home and told to wait for a call, Mitchell said otherwise, noting employees had suffered no repercussions as a result of the search. While some sources believe the company went too far by using search dogs, others commended the operation. “We need to get that stuff out of the workplace,” one source said, explaining drug users are putting themselves and others at risk on the job site. Mitchell said the company couldn’t ignore tips regarding the possibility of banned substances. “We were legally and morally obligated to act to ensure the continued safety of the workplace,” he said. Sources told KTW marijuana and cocaine were found during the search but, while Mitchell
did confirm “some banned substances” were found, he would not specify which kind, noting all such substances were disposed of by the RCMP. Mitchell did not acknowledge reports of a union grievance being filed, but said the company would continue to work with the Ironworkers in the future. “We intend to work closely with our labour partners and client in continued support of substance-abuse prevention initiatives and other programs,” Mitchell said. “As responsible employers, our goal is to maintain a safe site and get the workers home safe to their families each and every day. “There is no higher priority.” A representative of a detection-dog service in Vancouver said they deal frequently with large companies on mine and construction sites. The first question asked is
always whether there’s a union. “The search always goes much better when all parties are aware of what is taking place,” the company representative said. “Unions are a powerful thing. You want to make sure you have them involved in the process. “If you go against them, you could end up not being allowed to conduct any future searches, even small ones.” The company representative added that, even with all parties on board with the search, JV Driver is still have limited in who and what can be searched. “We could walk the dog around and have that visual factor, but we could not search an individual employee,” the company representative said. The dogs can, however, search around the lunch area, in company vehicles, such as the buses used to transport JVD employees, and around the exterior of personal vehicles.
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