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9 Can. J. Hum. Rts. 57 (2020)
Accommodating the Unknown: Balancing Employee Human Rights with the Employer Duty to Ensure Safety: A Dialogue on Stewart v Elk Valley and the Cannabis Act

handle is hein.journals/canajo9 and id is 60 raw text is: Accommodating the Unknown: Balancing Employee Human Rights with the Employer Duty to Ensure Safety: A Dialogue on Stewart v Elk Valley and the Cannabis Act Jon Soltyst & Daniel W. Dylant This paper examines the Supreme Court of Canada's 2017 decision in Stewart v Elk Valley Coal Corporation where collective worker safety came into conflict with a worker's addiction and his disability-related human rights. The Court's decision continues to be relevant today, particularly following the legalization of cannabis within Canada. In this paper, the authors explore: 1) the background to the Stewart decision; 2) critical developments respecting workplace safety and substance abuse in Canada; 3) the law's response to cannabis treatment and therapies in respect of worker safety and human rights protections; and, 4) the problematic reasoning within Stewart and what such reasoning portends for the adjudication offuture human rights. The analysis reveals how the Court departed from a settled line of human rights jurisprudence by circumventing the justification test to reach a result in which higher burdens may be imposed upon workers to establish a claim of disability-related prima facie discrimination in the face of proactive drug disclosure policies, while ultimately also diminishing privacy protections for worker health conditions. t BScN (Hons.) (Nipissing), BA (Carleton), JD (Lakehead), LLM (Ottawa). Jon has recently completed his master's in law with a concentration in health law, policy and ethics while employed as a legal advisor for a national professional defence organization. t BA (Hons.) (Carleton), LLB (Ottawa), JD (Michigan State College of Law), LLM (Ottawa). Daniel is an Associate Professor at Bora Laskin Faculty of Law, Lakehead University.