Canadian employers facing marijuana challenges in the workplace
Canadian employers are already coping with approximately 75,000 Canadians authorized to use medical marijuana. Health Canada expects that this number will increase to about 450,000 by 2024.
Employers know that medical marijuana is a psychoactive drug prescribed to deal with medical conditions and accordingly, since many of those medical conditions constitute a disability (which employers are bound to accommodate to the point of undue hardship) medical marijuana typically necessitates an assessment and accommodative approach.
The next challenge facing Canadian employers will come with the federal government’s promise to introduce legislation in the spring of 2017 to legalize marijuana. The Task Force led by former Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan has circulated a discussion paper entitled “Towards the Legalization, Regulation and Restriction of Access to Marijuana”.
In the recent US election, the State of California opted for legalizing marijuana. This puts America on the road to allowing 1 in 5 Americans to legally use marijuana.
Employers will have to be mindful of the consequences of legalization of marijuana. Detecting marijuana usage and impairment is a lot more complicated than detecting alcohol use or drunkenness. Canadian employers will want to learn more about the topic and engage with lawmakers.
Archive
By Alanna Waberski and Isaac McLellan On September 21, 2022, the Government of New Brunswick released its renewed climate change action plan which aims to help the province adapt to climate change while steering New…
Read MoreCourt upholds mandatory vaccine policy – Placing employee on unpaid leave not constructive dismissal
Mark Tector and Ben Currie While there have been a number of arbitration decisions on the subject, Parmar v Tribe Management Inc., 2022 BCSC 1675 appears to be the first reported civil court decision to…
Read MoreSadira Jan, Dave Randell, and James Gamblin Nova Scotia (“NS”) and Newfoundland and Labrador (“NL”) are positioned to become international leaders in offshore wind and green hydrogen. Each province has expansive offshores areas, abundant wind…
Read MoreKevin Landry and Nikolas Shymko The Cannabis Act came into force on October 17, 2018, putting in place framework for controlling the sale, possession, production and distribution of cannabis. The Cannabis Act requires the Minister…
Read MoreBrendan Sheridan and Brittany Trafford. Many events and workplaces started to feel more normal over the summer as we emerged from over two years of restrictions and COVID-19 pandemic precautions. However, as people line up…
Read MoreBy Level Chan and Shaniqwa Thomas The Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (CAPSA) has extended its deadline for submissions to October 14, 2022 on the following draft guidelines: Approach to Risk Management Guideline; Environmental,…
Read MoreBy Nancy Rubin, K.C. and Levi Parsche What happens if a person accidentally makes payment to a hacker, instead of to the person they actually owe money? Should they have to pay again? In the…
Read MoreG. Grant Machum and Ben Currie On Tuesday, September 13, 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared a federal holiday on Monday, September 19, 2022 to honour the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Minister of Labour…
Read MoreKevin Landry, Matt Jacobs Shareholder agreements are a key part of corporate governance. Nova Scotia is unique from other Canadian jurisdictions because the Companies Act (Nova Scotia) doesn’t contemplate ‘Unanimous Shareholder Agreements’ as other corporate…
Read MoreBy Kathleen Leighton Last year, Canada boasted record admissions of permanent residents, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and has an even more ambitious target for 2022 – namely, to welcome 431,000 permanent residents to the country.…
Read More