Drug and Alcohol Awareness (Canadian Model)
Once you have registered and enrolled, scroll to the Course Content section at the end of this page to begin your lessons.
Our online drug and alcohol awareness training helps workers in safety-sensitive jobs understand how alcohol, cannabis, other drugs and medications affect safe work, and what an alcohol and drug policy based on the Canadian Model expects of them. This self-paced, awareness-level course covers impairment and fitness for duty in eight narrated lessons: the Canadian Model’s alcohol and drug work rule, how substances affect work, medications and other causes of impairment, testing, privacy and human rights, recognizing and reporting suspected impairment, and where to get help.
Need training for your crew? For online group training, buy your enrolments here, then complete our Group Training Student Information form so we can set up each learner’s account. If you need help with your alcohol and drug policy or safety program, see our workplace safety consulting services.
Learn more about how our online safety training works.
On a job site, a moment of impairment is enough: a missed hand signal, a slow step back from a swinging load, a valve opened out of sequence. When alcohol or drugs show up at work, everyone pays: incidents and near misses, damage and downtime, absenteeism, WCB claims, and lost site access or contracts with owners who expect a strong alcohol and drug program. Workers who know the rules, arrive fit for duty and speak up early make the whole crew safer, and they support their employer’s due diligence, COR or SECOR audits and owner prequalification.
This is awareness-level training. It isn’t a certification, it doesn’t make anyone competent or qualified, it isn’t legal or medical advice, and it isn’t approved by any regulator. It isn’t the supervisor training the Canadian Model expects of supervisors, and it doesn’t train anyone to collect samples or conduct tests. Calgary Safety Consultants based this course on the Canadian Model for Providing a Safe Workplace, but it isn’t the official Canadian Model and isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by the Construction Owners Association of Alberta (COAA) or Energy Safety Canada. The Canadian Model is a voluntary industry guideline, not law, and your employer’s own alcohol and drug policy is what applies on your site.
Online Drug and Alcohol Awareness Training at a Glance
Price: $24.99 CAD plus GST per learner
Delivery: 100% online and self-paced
Course format: Eight narrated video lessons in four modules, with workplace examples, decision points and a knowledge check after every lesson
Course length (estimated): About 2.5 hours, including about 2 hours of lesson video plus the knowledge checks and final quiz
Assessment: A three-question knowledge check after every lesson (100% to continue) and a 10-question final quiz (80% to pass), with unlimited retries
Includes: A downloadable 61-page Student Reference Guide with a card for every teaching slide, lesson summaries, legal reference tables, official sources and seven worker checklists
Certificate: Certificate of Completion
Based on: The Canadian Model for Providing a Safe Workplace, Version 6.1, for workers across Canada
What Does Drug and Alcohol Awareness Training Cover?
This drug and alcohol training answers the questions workers actually ask: what counts as impairment, what the rule says, what happens if I’m asked to test, what stays private, and what to do when I’m worried about myself or a co-worker.
You’ll learn how to:
- Explain what impairment and fitness for duty mean, why they matter in safety-sensitive work, and what alcohol and drug use costs workers, families and employers.
- Describe what the Canadian Model is, how it comes to apply to you, and each part of its alcohol and drug work rule.
- Explain how alcohol, cannabis and other drugs affect safe work, including the morning after, edibles and the toxic drug supply.
- Use medications safely, tell your supervisor about potentially unsafe side effects before you start work, and recognize fatigue, stress and other causes of impairment.
- Explain the five times testing can happen under the Canadian Model, what happens during a test, and what the four types of results mean.
- Describe how privacy, human rights and the duty to accommodate apply, and what follows a violation of the work rule.
- Recognize possible signs of impairment, report a concern promptly, privately and with facts, and respond safely to immediate danger, overdose or alcohol poisoning.
- Find help through your employee assistance program (EAP) and other services, and understand assessment, treatment and returning to work.
Each lesson ends with a workplace example or decision point from a real Canadian setting, such as a turnaround, a camp or a crew truck, so learners practise making the call they’d face on the job.
Drug and Alcohol Rules at Work in Canada and the Canadian Model
The Canadian Model for Providing a Safe Workplace is a best-practice alcohol and drug guide from COAA and Energy Safety Canada. Version 6 brought the construction and maintenance sector and the oil and gas sector under one approach, and the current version, 6.1, was issued on May 1, 2023. It isn’t a law or a regulation. It applies to you when your employer adopts it as its alcohol and drug policy, or when a site owner requires it on its site or in its contracts, and companies can set stricter rules for their own work.
The law sits underneath any policy. OH&S law across Canada generally requires workers to work safely, protect themselves and others, and report hazards, and several jurisdictions go further and expressly prohibit working while impaired. Human rights laws generally treat a substance use disorder as a disability, so employers must accommodate it to the point of undue hardship, while privacy laws protect test results and health information.
The Student Reference Guide’s legal reference tables cover all 14 Canadian jurisdictions: Acts and regulators, impairment provisions, the Canadian Model at a glance, human rights and privacy, and the right to refuse, checked against official sources in October 2026. Laws change, so confirm the current official text with your regulator.
Who Should Take This Drug and Alcohol Awareness Course?
This course is built for workers in safety-sensitive work anywhere in Canada, and for anyone who works under an alcohol and drug policy based on the Canadian Model.
It’s suitable for:
- Construction, maintenance and turnaround workers, including tradespeople, apprentices and labourers
- Oil and gas, pipeline, utility and energy workers
- Equipment operators, drivers and anyone who drives for work
- Industrial, plant, warehouse and manufacturing workers
- Contractors and subcontractors who need workers ready for owner site-access requirements
- New workers getting ready for their first site orientation, and experienced workers who want a refresher
Employers often assign it before workers mobilize to a new site or rotation, alongside their own policy review and orientation.
Online Drug and Alcohol Awareness Course Features
Our online drug and alcohol awareness course is designed to be practical, respectful and easy to apply on the job.
Course features include:
- 100% online and self-paced
- Eight narrated video lessons in four modules
- Workplace examples and decision points from Canadian sites, camps, plants and crew trucks
- Links between impairment and the CSC Energy Sources, such as Motion, Gravity, Electrical and Pressure
- A three-question knowledge check after each lesson, with feedback after each answer
- A 10-question final quiz drawn from all four modules
- A downloadable Student Reference Guide with a card for every teaching slide, lesson summaries, legal reference tables and official sources
- A Certificate of Completion
The Student Reference Guide’s seven worker checklists are: Know Your Alcohol and Drug Policy Checklist, Before-Shift Fitness for Duty Self-Check, Medication Safety Checklist, What to Expect if You’re Asked to Take a Test, Reporting Suspected Impairment: Do’s and Don’ts, Overdose and Alcohol Poisoning Emergency Card and Getting Help and Returning to Work Checklist. They’re practical aids for orientation, before a shift or when something changes, not a replacement for your employer’s policy.
Drug and Alcohol Awareness Course Modules
The course is organized into four modules of two lessons each. Each lesson is one complete narrated video with a knowledge check.
Module One: Why It Matters
Module One sets the foundation. It covers impairment, fitness for duty and safety-sensitive work, where your employer’s policy and the Canadian Model fit, and each part of the alcohol and drug work rule, along with the roles of workers, supervisors, owners and unions.
Lessons:
- Lesson One: Alcohol, Drugs and Workplace Safety
- Lesson Two: The Canadian Model and the Alcohol and Drug Work Rule
Module Two: Substances and Impairment
Module Two looks at substances and impairment. It covers how alcohol, cannabis and other drugs affect work, including after-effects and overdose risk, then how to use medications safely and how fatigue, stress and other causes affect your fitness for duty.
Lessons:
- Lesson Three: How Alcohol, Cannabis and Other Drugs Affect Work
- Lesson Four: Medications, Fitness for Duty and Other Causes of Impairment
Module Three: Testing, Rights and Responsibilities
Module Three covers testing, rights and responsibilities. It follows a test from the request to the result under the Canadian Model, then explains confidentiality, human rights, the duty to accommodate and what follows a violation of the work rule.
Lessons:
- Lesson Five: Alcohol and Drug Testing Under the Canadian Model
- Lesson Six: Privacy, Human Rights and the Duty to Accommodate
Module Four: Speaking Up and Getting Help
Module Four is about speaking up and getting help. It covers recognizing and reporting suspected impairment, responding to immediate danger and emergencies, and getting help through your EAP, assessment, treatment and returning to work.
Lessons:
- Lesson Seven: Recognizing and Reporting Suspected Impairment
- Lesson Eight: Getting Help: EAP, Assessment and Returning to Work
Complete Your Online Drug and Alcohol Awareness Training
Enrol on this page, then work through the lessons in order at your own pace. After each video, complete the lesson’s three-question knowledge check. You need all three answers correct (100%) to move on, and you can retry as many times as you need, with feedback after each answer to help you learn.
After Lesson 8, complete the 10-question final quiz, which draws on all four modules. You need 8 correct answers (80%) to pass, and you can retake it as many times as you need. Once you’ve completed all eight lessons, their knowledge checks and the final quiz, you can download your Certificate of Completion.
The certificate shows that you completed awareness-level online training in drug and alcohol awareness based on the Canadian Model. It isn’t a certification or a professional designation, and it doesn’t show that you’ve met any employer’s, owner’s or regulator’s training requirement. Your employer decides what training its own policy requires.
Frequently Asked Questions About Drug and Alcohol Awareness Training
What is the Canadian Model?
The Canadian Model for Providing a Safe Workplace is a best-practice alcohol and drug guide from the Construction Owners Association of Alberta (COAA) and Energy Safety Canada. The current version, 6.1, was issued on May 1, 2023. It’s a voluntary industry guideline, not a law, and it applies to you when your employer adopts it or a site owner requires it.
Is this official Canadian Model training?
No. Calgary Safety Consultants based this course on the Canadian Model and explains it in our own words, but it isn’t the official Canadian Model and isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by COAA or Energy Safety Canada. Your employer’s own alcohol and drug policy is what applies on your site.
Who should take drug and alcohol awareness training?
Workers in safety-sensitive work, such as construction, maintenance, oil and gas, energy, trades, equipment operation and driving for work, and anyone who works under an alcohol and drug policy based on the Canadian Model.
How long does the online drug and alcohol awareness course take?
We estimate about 2.5 hours. The eight lesson videos run about 2 hours in total, and the knowledge checks and final quiz add time depending on your pace. You can stop and return at any time.
Does this course replace my employer’s alcohol and drug policy or training?
No. It builds your understanding of the risks, the rules and where to get help, but your employer’s policy tells you exactly how things work on your site. Read it, complete your orientation and site training, and ask your supervisor or HR about anything unclear.
Can supervisors take this course?
Yes, for worker-level awareness. It isn’t the supervisor training the Canadian Model expects of supervisors, and it doesn’t train anyone to collect samples or conduct tests. Supervisors should check with their employer about the supervisor training their policy requires.
Do I receive a certificate?
Yes. You receive a Certificate of Completion after you complete all eight lessons, their knowledge checks and the 10-question final quiz (8 of 10 correct, 80%, with unlimited retakes). It records completion of awareness-level online training. It isn’t a certification, and it isn’t approved by any regulator.
Can employers purchase training for several people?
Yes. Employers can buy online training for two or more learners on this page. After placing your order, complete our Group Training Student Information form with your order number and each learner’s details so we can set up their accounts.
Additional Drug and Alcohol Awareness Resources
These official sources sit behind the course and point you to help. Use them alongside your employer’s alcohol and drug policy.
Canadian Model for Providing a Safe Workplace
Issued by: Energy Safety Canada
The current Canadian Model, issued jointly by COAA and Energy Safety Canada, with its guidelines, model policy and work rule.
Canadian Model for Providing a Safe Workplace
The Canadian Model Version 6.1 Now Available
Issued by: Construction Owners Association of Alberta (COAA)
COAA’s notice that Version 6.1 was issued on May 1, 2023, jointly by COAA and Energy Safety Canada.
The Canadian Model Version 6.1 Now Available
Impairment in the workplace
Issued by: Government of Alberta
Alberta’s guidance on impairment from substances, medications, fatigue and other causes, fitness to work, and employer and worker duties.
Impairment in the workplace
Canada’s overdose crisis and the toxic illegal drug supply
Issued by: Health Canada
Why the illegal drug supply is toxic and unpredictable, and why any illegal drug can carry a risk of overdose.
Canada’s overdose crisis and the toxic illegal drug supply
9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline
Issued by: 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline
Call or text 9-8-8 any time, 24 hours a day, anywhere in Canada. In an emergency, call 911.
9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline
Workplace Safety Consulting Services
Issued by: Calgary Safety Consultants
Our consulting support for safety programs, policies, hazard assessments, audits and COR and SECOR readiness across Western Canada.
Workplace Safety Consulting Services
Related courses: Understanding Canadian OH&S Legislation, Hazard Assessment and Control for Canadian Workplaces, FLHA Essentials for Workers and Incident Reporting and Investigation Training.
