New risks are keeping landscape contractors awake at night This July, the Trudeau government’s cannabis plan takes effect, legalizing recreational use of the drug across Canada for everyone 19 and over. Critics argue the federal legislation will make it easier for children to access cannabis. Others warn of a potential increase in drug impaired driving, adding police forces may have a difficult time detecting and enforcing drug DUIs due to the lack of a breathalyzer equivalent for cannabis. Meanwhile, business owners, including landscape professionals, are left to figure out what the new laws mean for their companies. Tony Lombardi, owner of the Scarborough, Ont.-based design, maintenance and construction company Dr. Landscape, is calling out the “elephant in the room.” He says cannabis use is rampant in the landscape industry.
With recreational cannabis legalization, Lombardi is concerned the problem will get even worse. To mitigate his company’s risks, Lombardi now screens job applicants on whether they are cannabis users, and he has implemented random drug testing for current employees. “I think the day and age of employers ignoring these kinds of issues is long gone,” Lombardi says. “I have seven crews, which means I have seven drivers with seven trucks on the road each day. I have liability and vehicle insurance, but what happens if one of my drivers is stoned, and I don’t know about it, and they cause a collision in a company truck?” Lombardi takes his responsibility as a company owner very seriously. “I couldn’t live with myself if I knew that one of my staff members went out with my truck while impaired, and killed a child on the street,” he says. The issue carries ethical, as well as legal and insurance factors. “If there’s an incident involving an employee intoxicated on drugs, driving a company truck or operating a piece of equipment on a job site, the Ministry of Labour and the police are going to get involved,” Lombardi says. “The first thing that’s going to happen in the case of a DUI, is I’m going to lose my insurance coverage. Not only will my company lose insurance protection, but it will also lose legal representation from the insurer. If the worst-case sce-
nario happened and someone was catastrophically injured or killed, not only would I lose my company, but I could personally go to jail for negligence if it was found that I neglected due diligence to ensure my driver was fit to be on the road.” The impact of legalization, and whether it will lead to a spike in cannabis use, is a hotly debated topic amongst politicians and public policy professionals. For Lombardi, who has worked in the landscape profession some 25 years, cannabis is already far too prevalent. “It’s almost like a plague,” he says. Last season, Lombardi dismissed four employees after one crew member brought cannabis to work. Three members of the crew were let go because they failed to report a member of their team possessed cannabis in a company truck. “I can tell you first hand what drugs do to the company’s bottom line, because I have witnessed it,” Lombardi says. “It is mindboggling how much it can kill productivity and
What makes a good drug policy?
Lawyer Patrick Groom says good drug and alcohol policies should: l Prohibit employees in safety-sensitive positions from working while impaired. l Require employees to disclose information about drug use that may affect safety, including proactive disclosure of drug dependency. l Set out a process to obtain information that respects privacy and encourages compliance. l Define a process for obtaining additional medical information to accommodate medical marijuana users. l Ensure the employee (and union if applicable) participates in the accommodation process. l Identify appropriate restrictions on the use of marijuana, including those that may be needed for medical marijuana. l Identify consequences, such as discipline or termination, in the event of a policy breach.
JUNE 2018 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |
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