*Please note that this award contains both the French and English versions. The French version is the original text; the English version follows for reference purposes.

The arbitrator upheld the Company's decision to require post-incident drug and alcohol testing and ultimately dismissed the Union's grievance. Although the accident involved only a company vehicle striking a concrete pillar during a backing maneuver, the arbitrator found it was more than a minor incident because the vehicle sustained significant damage and the Grievor admitted he failed to follow CN’s mandatory backing procedures. The arbitrator concluded that CN conducted a reasonable investigation before ordering the test and that testing was justified to help determine whether impairment may have contributed to the accident. As a result, the positive cannabis test result was admissible and could be relied upon in assessing discipline.

On the question of impairment, the arbitrator accepted established railway arbitration jurisprudence that an oral fluid cannabis result of 10 ng/mL supports an inference that the employee was working while impaired. While the Union argued that there were no observable signs of impairment and that the test result alone did not prove impairment, the arbitrator found that previous arbitral decisions have consistently treated the 10 ng/mL threshold as indicative of recent cannabis use during a period associated with impairment. The arbitrator was not persuaded by the Grievor's testimony that he was not impaired and noted inconsistencies in his evidence regarding his cannabis consumption.

In considering the penalty, the arbitrator acknowledged several mitigating factors, including the Grievor's previously clean disciplinary record, cooperation during the investigation, and relatively short service history. However, the arbitrator emphasized the serious safety risks associated with operating a vehicle while impaired and noted that dismissal is generally presumed to be the appropriate penalty in such cases. Given the positive test result, the vehicle accident, the breach of safety procedures, and concerns about the reliability of the Grievor's evidence regarding his cannabis use, the arbitrator declined to substitute a lesser penalty and upheld the termination.