TTC board orders end to random drug and alcohol testing of transit workers
After a 15-year dispute, the transit authority will scrap random testing and develop a new policy compliant with a landmark arbitrator ruling.
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The TTC will stop random drug and alcohol testing of its employees, the board decided Saturday, ending a dispute with the Amalgamated Transit Union that stretched back more than a decade.
Arbitrator Laura Trachuk ruled in July that the TTC's random testing policy violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the union's collective agreement. She found the policy "not a reasonable exercise of management rights" and noted that "employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy and random testing is a real and significant intrusion on those interests."
TTC board chair Coun. Jamaal Myers said the board has directed staff to develop an "enhanced" policy that complies with Trachuk's decision and industry standards. The transit authority will continue duty screening measures in line with the arbitrator's recommendations while the new policy is being drafted.
Trachuk also urged the TTC to reinstate eight employees who faced grievances because of the policy. Marvin Alfred, president of ATU Local 113, called the arbitrator's decision a "historic and decisive" victory for workers' rights. "This policy has been a tragedy for the workers and their families who have been devastated because of the misguided and inappropriate use of tests," Alfred said.
The TTC introduced its fitness-for-duty policy in 2010 but did not adopt random testing until 2016, starting the program in 2017. The timeline for developing and implementing the new policy remains unclear.
When will the new enhanced testing policy be finalized and implemented?
Will the eight employees named by the arbitrator be reinstated, and what compensation will they receive?
We'll update this story as answers emerge.
The facts
When did the arbitrator rule against the TTC's random testing policy?
Arbitrator Laura Trachuk ruled in July 2026 that the TTC's random testing policy violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the union's collective agreement.
When did the TTC start random drug and alcohol testing of employees?
The TTC started random testing in 2017, after adopting the program in 2016.
What will the TTC do instead of random testing?
The TTC board has directed staff to develop an enhanced policy that complies with the arbitrator's decision and industry standards, while continuing duty screening measures in line with the arbitrator's recommendations.
