TTC employees no longer have to take random drug and alcohol tests, arbitrator says

TTC employees will no longer have to take random drug and alcohol tests starting Monday. An arbitrator with the Ontario Labour Relations Board says the transit company’s testing policies are unjustifiable, unreasonable and unconstitutional. Her report details how there is no scientific evidence to support that the testing enhances safety. She adds that the tests [...]

TTC employees no longer have to take random drug and alcohol tests, arbitrator says Posted July 13, 2026 11:21 pm. TTC employees will no longer have to take random drug and alcohol tests starting Monday. An arbitrator with the Ontario Labour Relations Board says the transit company’s testing policies are unjustifiable, unreasonable and unconstitutional.

Her report details how there is no scientific evidence to support that the testing enhances safety. She adds that the tests are unreliable. For years the TTC was able to make employees swab their mouths or have them blow into a breathalyzer at any time.

The President of the company’s largest employee union is calling the arbitrator’s landmark decision a victory for workers’ rights to privacy. “Literally thousands of workers have been forced to undergo these unreasonable tests which were never fit for purpose,” Marvin Alfred, President of Local 113 of the Amalgamated Transit Union said in a statement. “Hundreds of workers have lost their employment because they were forced to take tests that were inaccurate and unreliable,” he added.

“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.” He claims that public dollars that could have been used for “real and effective” safety measures were instead wasted on a “misguided” program.