Safety Reporter
Canadian
www.safety-reporter.com
April 2018
Suitable employment and accommodation
not necessarily the same thing
Quebec's injury compensation scheme and charter of human rights
have similar goals but aren't exclusive: Supreme Court
BY JEFFREY R. SMITH
A QUEBEC worker who was in-
jured at work has won his appeal
arguing that his human right to
accommodation of his disability
is not superseded by the prov-
ince's workplace injury compen-
sation scheme.
Alain Caron was a special ed-
ucator at Centre Miriam, a cen-
tre for people with intellectual
disabilities in Mont-Royal, Que.
On Oct. 20, 2004, Caron hit
his left elbow on a door frame
while working at Centre Miriam.
He developed lateral epicondyli-
tis, or tennis elbow, as a result of
the injury. Due to his limitations
from the injury Centre Miriam
Speculation not enough
for work refusal
Border officers concerned with fumigants in shipping
containers but safety procedures sufficient: Tribunal
BY JEFFREY R. SMITH
THE CANADA Occupational Health and Safety Tribunal has dis-
missed an appeal by two border services officers who refused to
work because they perceived a potential danger from chemical ex-
posure in warehouses where they inspected imported goods.
Ron Harris and Lucido Fauceglia were border services officers
for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Their job duties
included examining and verifying goods imported into Canada for
SUITABLE ACCOMMODATION NOT SO
SUITABLE FOR INJURED WORKER
Worker's injured foot worsened during
job retraining and required more surgery,
increasing his medical restrictions pg. 7
JAW INJURY
NOT A PERMANENT DISABILITY
MORE THAN 30 YEARS LATER pg. 3
Worker kept claiming TMJ dysfunction was
permanent disability but he was able to
perform his full job duties and eat normally
B.C. ARBITRATOR SETS ASIDE
RANDOM DRUG AND ALCOHOL
TESTING AT COAL MINES
Company couldn't prove workplace
problem with drugs and alcohol that
justified collection of personal info
pg. 5
INSIDE
NEWS BRIEF
Quebec > pg. 4
Credit:
Shutterstock/designer491
Safety > pg. 2
PM
#40065782
MARIJUANA TO GO ON
SALE MONTHS AFTER LAW
PASSED: MINISTER
OTTAWA (Reuters) — Recreational
marijuana in Canada will only go
on sale a few months after it is
legalized because the new retail
system needs time to start working
properly, according to Health Min-
ister Ginette Petitpas Taylor.
The Liberal government says the
new law must be in place by July 1
this year, which would make Cana-
da the first Group of Seven country
to adopt such a policy. Some of the
provinces, which are responsible
for actually selling marijuana, com-
plain they do not have enough time.
"They told us they need eight
to 12 weeks following (adoption
of the law) for preparatory ac-
tivities to occur, such as prepara-
tory movement of product from
licensed producers to distribution
and retail outlets," Petitpas Taylor
told the Senate upper chamber.
As well as complaining about
what they see as an excessively
ambitious timetable, the provinces
also say they need federal money
to meet the extra costs of enforcing
the new rules. Ottawa, the provinc-
es and the territories settled a dis-
agreement last December on how
to split revenues from a proposed
federal tax on marijuana sales.