We have all heard of those ridiculous US court decisions where some careless woman gets a huge award from McDonalds because she drives away with hot coffee in her lap and proceeds to spill the coffee. Now from a Canadian court we get as stupid a ruling. But this time it is a judge not a jury handing down the stupid ruling. Here are some background facts to the Canadian case:

The case began in 2002 when John Chiasson was hired by Kellog Brown and Root as a receiving inspector at Syncrude’s oilsands plant. He was required to pass a pre-employment drug test. Nine days after he started work the company learned his urine was positive for the active ingredient in marijuana. He admitted that he had smoked pot five days before the test and was immediately fired under the company’s zero-tolerance policy. Chiasson complained to the Alberta Human Rights Commission, which ruled he was not discriminated against. Last year, Justice Sheilah Martin of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench overturned that decision, ruling that Chiasson should have been treated the same as someone with a drug addiction, which is considered a disability in human rights case law. Martin said the company should scrap the drug tests or find a way to help people who fail them.

[Read more →]