Cannabis: a business in Trois-Rivières is concerned about the random checks in the United States

Emilie Valley

Thursday, 15 march, 2018 18:16

UPDATE
Thursday, 15 march, 2018 18:19

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THREE RIVERS | The legalization of cannabis is fast approaching, and some companies are concerned about the reactions of their american customers.

At Factora, whose headquarters is located in Three Rivers, 95 % of the turnover comes from customers in the United States. Among its clients are manufacturers who engage in anti-doping controls at random. What will happen when canadian employees are sent on-the-spot for contracts?

“Our clients can ask for tests, it happened two times in the past. A Canadian can refuse, but they can also refuse to give us the contract. One of the impacts of legalization, is that customers could ask of drug tests to all Canadians and that those who consume legally here might not work for our customers in the United States,” said Brigitte Lepage, vice-president human resources and organizational development at Factora.

The impacts could be significant for this company. “Our engineers or our employees who work in computing are in the factory. These are companies international manufacturing and if for some reason X, they must stop an assembly line, these are losses of hundreds of thousands of dollars and even more,” added Ms. Lepage.

The presence of THC, the main substance responsible for the pharmacological effects of cannabis in humans, remains detectable in the body for up to a month after consumption. Once the product is legalized in Canada, what will be the use of the companies?

“To test an employee, there must be a risk to the safety or reasonable grounds to test this person,” said Stéphane Maurais, general manager of Alco Prevention Canada, which provides training courses for businesses.

“One of the potential impacts, it would theoretically be for us to engage more employees in the United States because there we can require and we can fire on this base,” said Brigitte Lepage.

The minister of international Trade believes that Canada is simply a rendering there. “It is sure that there is an analysis of the impacts in different sectors, but Canadians who go abroad also have to comply with local laws,” replied François-Philippe Champagne.

The lawyers specializing in labour relations recommend that companies equip themselves with now a clear policy on the subject. For Factora, the focus is on the professionalism of its employees.