OIL COMPANY SUNCOR'S
random drug and alcohol testing
policy has been given a second
chance by an Alberta court after
an arbitration board previously
struck it down.
Suncor has oil sands extrac-
tion operations in two locations
north of Fort McMurray, Alta.
As of July 2013, there were more
than 3,300 unionized workers,
almost 3,000 non-represented
workers and up to 3,400 contrac-
tor employees.
Much of the activity in Sun-
cor's oil sands operations in-
volved heavy equipment and
dangerous activities, so safety
Safety Reporter
Canadian
www.safetyreporter.com
July 2016
NO SMOKING IN PERSONAL VEHICLES
ON COMPANY PROPERTY REASONABLE
Company introduced new policy prohibiting
smoking everywhere on its premises with goal of
improving employee health and wellness pg. 3
CITY'S CONVICTION AFTER DEATH
AND INJURY OF ROAD WORKERS
SET ASIDE pg. 5
Vehicle hitting workers not in itself proof
of safety offences; new trial ordered
'BULLETS' COMMENT MADE
IN HEAT OF ILLEGAL STRIKE
NOT HARASSMENT
Comment and gun gesture were made
in frustration; not every inappropriate
comment is harassment: Arbitrator
pg. 6
INSIDE
Suncor's alcohol and drug
policy gets another chance
Appeal court overturns arbitration board's decision that evidence
didn't show enough of a problem at worksites to justify random testing
BY JEFFREY R. SMITH
Firefighter safety crucial
in Fort McMurray
Fatigue, communication and mental
health among biggest concerns
BY MELISSA CAMPEAU
ON THE EVENING of Sunday, May 1, thousands of people fled the
first Fort McMurray neighbourhoods as a wildfire made its way to
the city's edge. By Tuesday, the fire had become massive, the prov-
ince of Alberta declared a state of emergency and a mass evacuation
began. As 80,000 people attempted to leave on a single highway, fire-
fighters from Fort McMurray — and well beyond — stepped in to
NEWS BRIEF
FORMER RUGBY
INTERNATIONALS
IN CONCUSSION STUDY
(Reuters) - More than 100 former
rugby internationals have agreed
to take part in a scientific study
on the effects of concussion on
brain health to increase safe-
ty standards in the sport, said the
Rugby Football Union (RFU).
The issue has long been a
source of concern in rugby and re-
surfaced last month when England
captain Dylan Hartley, sidelined
for 14 weeks with various head
injuries last season, said he would
consider retirement if he suffered
another concussion.
More than 200 former players
over 50 who reported concussions
while playing will go through physi-
cal and cognitive tests to study
possible links between concussion
and neurodegenerative diseases
like Alzheimer's.
Professor Neil Pearce of the Lon-
don School of Hygiene & Tropical
Medicine, who will lead the study,
said he hoped the results would
be conclusive in establishing the
long-term effects of concussion.
"Evidence is accumulating on
the possible long-term health risks
in former contact-sport athletes,"
said Pearce.
Employer > pg. 4
Credit:
Shutterstock/chris
kolaczan
Communication > pg. 2