CP Rail to Fight Orders to Reinstate Cocaine-Using Engineer

This article was last updated on May 25, 2022

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Canadian Pacific Railway has announced it’s to plan to fight a court case against an arbitrator’s order to reinstate a locomotive engineer tested positive for cocaine use on the job. In his remarks, CP’s chief executive officer, Hunter Harrison, mentioned that “the arbitrator’s decision is an outrage and, as a railroader, I am appalled we would be forced to place this employee back in the cab of a locomotive. On my watch, this individual will not operate a locomotive.” Harrison further added that “the decision sets a dangerous precedent and is grossly unacceptable for the safe operation of a railway.” CP has mentioned that it will not hesitate to ask the Superior Court of Quebec to overturn the decision.

On the other hand, the vice-president of the Teamsters Rail Conference of Canada, Doug Finnson, stated that “it was not a catastrophe or accident.” He alleged that even though “it was a minor little screw-up at work,” the company called it a “serious rules violation.” Finnson explained it to be an incident involving train running through a switch in a yard. Finnson said that “he did not get off scot-free. He will be subject to random drug testing for two years.”

Although Finnson admitted that any use of drug is illegal, he argued that “depending on the circumstances some people are entitled to a second chance.” Harrison alleged that “Companies in Canada need the ability to carry out random drug tests as safety should trump the rights of any individual who makes the dangerous choice to place themselves, their coworkers and the general public at risk.”