TTC lost its random drug-testing case; the board's response was decided behind closed doors

Toronto Transit Commission Board · 2026-07-22 · 2026.TTC16.11

TTC lost its random drug-testing case; the board's response was decided behind closed doors

An arbitrator issued a ~380-page ruling striking down the TTC's random drug and alcohol testing policy as unconstitutional and ordered fired workers reinstated. ATU Local 113 president Marvin Alfred deputed publicly, urging the board to accept the ruling rather than seek a judicial review. The board debated the deputation in open session but made its actual decision in camera and adopted those recommendations without disclosing their content.

amendedToronto Transit Commission Board · Wed, Jul 22WatchCourt rulingClosed doors

Who did what

Councillor Dianne Saxe (Ward 11) moved and questioned staffMoved to adopt the recommendations taken in camera; carried.
Councillor Alejandra Bravo (Ward 9) questioned staffQuestioned whether any other Canadian transit agency uses random testing and probed the charter-compliance point.

From the floor

“Random drug testing is bad policy. It's always been bad policy. It's illegal. It doesn't work and it harms people's lives.”Speaker not identified

“If they do, please ask them on behalf of workers and taxpayers why they think they can win where they've already lost on every point.”Speaker not identified

“The arbitrator wrote, wishful thinking in these circumstances leads to injustice. Many members have unfairly lost their jobs.”Speaker not identified

“Item TTC 16.11, fitness for duty grievance update, which was just considered in camera. Can I please have a motion to adopt the recommendations taken in camera?”Speaker not identified

Also in this item

• The deputant flagged that staff may ask the board to support a judicial review of the arbitration loss, which could cost more millions after a decade of litigation.

• The board's actual decision on how to respond to the ruling was made entirely in closed session and its content was not disclosed publicly.

• Union states no other municipal transit agency in Canada uses random drug testing; only federally regulated sectors (e.g. nuclear) have had it upheld.

The journey

Wed, Jul 22 · Toronto Transit Commission Board · amended

What happens next

The substantive decision was made in closed session, so residents have no direct window here; any judicial review the TTC pursues would surface in future filings and reports.

Decision

Board adopted the recommendations considered in camera (content not disclosed publicly); motion moved by Commissioner Saxs, carried.

Watch it happen

Jump to this item in the meeting video

Why is this story here?

StructuralReports an external arbitrator ruling that struck the TTC's random drug-and-alcohol testing policy and ordered reinstatements, a structural, largely irreversible constraint on how the agency manages workplace safety. Per the rubric's external-decision rule and the drug-testing worked example, this scores on the substance of the ruling: Stakes 3.Touches a narrow groupNo rider's ordinary week changes as a result. The effect is felt by TTC employees subject to testing, a specific group, one remove from the riding public, Salience 1, matching the worked example.

Stories are ordered by how much weight a decision carries and how directly it reaches daily life. They rise as a decision date approaches and fall as they age.

Official title: Fitness For Duty Grievance Update · meeting video