Clouds of smoke and suspicion at BC Ferries

The latest revelations in the long running saga of the Queen of the North are leaving British Columbians to wonder exactly what is going on with the province’s marine transportation system.

As almost an aside to their investigation into the sinking of the Queen of the North, the Transportation Safety Board raised the spectre of drug use as a troublesome aspect to life on the coastal waters of British Columbia.

Even more disturbing, seems to be the lack of an action plan by BC Ferries and its union, in ensuring that the safety of its passengers is the number one concern of all those that are employed at BC Ferries.

Embarrassed by the public calling out by the CTSB, the Ferry corporation seems to be scrambling for a sense of movement on the issue, on one hand suggesting that until they have federal drug testing legislation in place the task of testing employees for drugs is challenging (the FederalTransportation Minister sees it otherwise), while at the same time admitting that the current drug policy at the Ferry Corporation has been effective in the past in dismissing over-indulgent employees.

One has to wonder if the current program has led to past dismissals, why then the Transportation Board would be finding enough instances of drug use onboard the ferries, that they became so alarmed so as to issue a "broad concern" over the situation.

The issue does seem to have more than a few twists on the journey to sane regulation, various Canadian courts have in the past struck down the prospect of mandatory drug testing for marijuana, over the concept of result interpretations. As well, challenges to the Charter of Rights have seen successful challenges over drug testing made.

It’s a strange bit of law making that puts the good of the whole at peril, for the sake of the rights of a few to partake in what can only be described as a dangerous practice in a most unadvised location.

There should be no hesitation at all in providing for whatever regulations and labour law required, making for the safest environment for the traveling public. It’s hard to see how anyone can argue against the idea of making sure that those tasked with our safety while on board a BC Ferry, are in fact capable of attending to their duties in an unimpaired state. Common sense seems to dictate that such a policy would be a no brainer and one that any union would be hard pressed to fight against.

What does appear obvious is the need for a complete review of every aspect of BC Ferries, starting with a judicial inquiry in the sinking of the Queen of the North, complete with full and sworn testimony. Over eighteen months after the sinking of the ferry, we are still no closer to understanding what happened that night and now are left with even more questions than we had back in March of 2006.

It would appear that a full scale inquiry into the day to day workings of BC Ferries is also required, as there seems to be some very serious issues that need to be fully investigated and acted upon. Far too many disturbing side stories keep popping up regarding the vessels that provide a vital link in the province, British Columbians need to be assured that their ferries are being run in a proper manner and that safety always will be the number on priority at the Ferry Corporation.

Having an outside and trusted person or panel take on that role of investigator, would provide a level of reassurance for the public that surely is being eroded daily by astounding revelation after revelation. The provincial government would be wise to try and bring back a sense of confidence in the course that they have set for the ferry corporation, for in the end the accountability will eventually rest with them and their past and current decisions.

Since the Transportation Board warning earlier this week, the issue of ferry safety has been a high profile part of the daily news cycle, here are a few samples of the level of concern that have been raised.


Ferry workers pass joint, Hahn passes buck
BC transportation minister will meet ferries president and union to discuss pot use
Ferries can do drug tests now, says minister
Queen of the North crews should be drug tested: BC Ferries
Report says ferries going to pot
Ferry crews go to pot
Board warns of pot use by Queen of North crew
Ferry workers toke on the job
Ferries boss calls for drug tests
Another bizarre twist in the Queen of the North investigation
B.C. ferry crew 'regularly' smoked pot, probe finds
West Coast drug jokes aside, BC Ferries has to take action

The topic was also prominent on the agenda at the Daily News, as they provided coverage of the story in the Thursday paper.

FERRY BOSS HAHN CALLS FOR DRUG TESTS FOR EMPLOYEES
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Pages one and three

B. C. Ferries CEO David Hahn is calling on the federal government to empower Canadian ferry operators to drug test employees in safety-sensitive positions.

The appeal came shortly after the Canadian Transportation Safety Board issues a notice that, during the investigation into the sinking of the Queen of the North, it came to light that a number of crew members were regularly smoking cannabis between shifts both on and off the vessel.

“The safety of the traveling public is paramount,” said Hahn.

He noted that drug and alcohol testing are both mandatory and random in the U. S. transportation industry and said that, given the TSB’s conclusions, similar legislation needs to be adopted in Canada as well.

“Management can create and enforce tough zero-tolerance policies, but mandatory and random drug and alcohol testing is the only proven method of ensuring protection for the public,” he said.

According to John Cottreau, a spokesperson for the safety board, there is no suggestion at all that crew members on the Queen of the North were high when the ship slammed into an island near Hartley Bay and sank in March 2006.

However, no alcohol or drug tests were done on crew members following the sinking according to B. C. Ferries.

Cottreau said the board has issued a so-called “broad concern.”

“We interviewed enough people who told us the crews were regularly smoking cannabis, and a pattern began to emerge,” Cottreau said Wednesday.

Cottreau said evidence of pot smoking surfaced in follow-up interviews conducted by investigators looking into the sinking.

“We have reason now to believe the practice continues and it may not be isolated to a few individuals,” Cottreau said.

He added that the warning has been sent to B. C. Ferry Services and the B. C. Ferry and Marine workers’ Union.

Hahn said the company has had a strict zero-tolerance policy for crewmembers since, 2005 but needs the legislation to enforce it.

According to the B.C. Ferries policy manual, “crew members are not permitted to consumer nor have in their possession alcohol or any other mood altering substance, which would render them unfit for duty. This prohibition is considered to include all hours on duty or off duty watch, from the time an employee joins the ship until the release for rest days.”

Where violations of the policy have been found, B. C. Ferries has terminated the employees involved.

B. C. Ferries announced that it will be following up on the TSB report with its own investigation.