TTC's employee drug testing program wins public sector safety award

TTC/Shutterstock

Earlier this year, the TTC implemented a random drug and alcohol testing program for its over 10,000 employees.

The testing is part of the TTC’s fitness for duty policy to improve the safety of its workplace, its customers and all Toronto road users, according to the transit agency.

And now, that program has won the Toronto Transit Commission a new award.

The TTC was awarded the Ontario Safety League’s Award of Excellence for Public Safety last week by Ontario Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca. According to the TTC, the award is given annually to highlight and support a public sector initiative that enhances public safety.

“The TTC is proud to be a leader in this critically important area of public safety,” said TTC CEO Andy Byford in a release. “I remain hopeful that random testing for all safety sensitive positions in the transit and transportation industries will soon be the norm and not the exception. I want to recognize and thank all those who worked to make the TTC the first public transit agency in Canada to adopt random testing.”

The award recognizes the TTC for its leadership in introducing its fitness for duty policy and for the potential to inspire other transit agencies to do likewise.

The new drug testing police was implemented on May 8, and since then more than 1000 employees have been tested.

In a report last month, the TTC showed 21 failed tests. The majority of failures were due to drugs, followed by alcohol. Marijuana was the most prominent drug in the analysis, followed by cocaine. There were also individual cases of Oxycodone and Opiates use.

The TTC says that random testing for drugs and alcohol looks for impairment at the time of the test, using an oral fluid sample for drugs and a breathalyzer for alcohol.

There’s no word yet on new decals for their latest award.

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