Drug and Alcohol Training
Drug and alcohol training helps workers arrive fit for duty and helps supervisors and managers respond to possible impairment safely, fairly and in line with their alcohol and drug policy.
In safety-sensitive work, a moment of impairment is enough: a missed hand signal, a slow step back from a swinging load, a valve opened out of sequence. Most workers never cause a problem, and most leaders want to do the right thing. What they often don’t have is a clear picture of what the policy expects of them, how alcohol, cannabis, other drugs, medications and fatigue affect work, and what to do in the first few minutes when something doesn’t look right.
Calgary Safety Consultants offers two self-paced online courses based on the Canadian Model for Providing a Safe Workplace: one for workers and one for managers and supervisors. Both are built for employers across Canada, including construction, oil and gas, energy, mining, utilities, transportation and industrial maintenance.
Enrol individual learners today, buy seats for your crews and leadership team, or book a free 30-minute Consultation if you’d like help with your alcohol and drug program.
Online drug and alcohol training for workplaces in Calgary, Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and across Canada.
Online courses
Two Online Drug and Alcohol Courses: One for Workers, One for Leaders
Workers and leaders need different things from drug and alcohol training. Workers need to know the rules they’re working under, how substances and medications affect safe work, and how to get help. Supervisors and managers need all of that plus the leader’s side of the policy: recognizing possible impairment, acting on reasonable grounds, handling incident testing, protecting privacy and supporting a safe return to work.
That’s why we built two courses on the same Canadian Model foundation. Most employers enrol their workers in the worker edition and their supervisors, forepersons and managers in the leadership edition, so everyone hears the same rules and the same language.
Drug and Alcohol Awareness (Canadian Model)
For workers in safety-sensitive jobs who work under an alcohol and drug policy based on the Canadian Model.
- 8 narrated video lessons in four modules
- about 2.5 hours (estimated)
- a 10-question final quiz
- a 61-page Student Reference Guide with 7 worker checklists
- $24.99 CAD plus GST per learner
Drug and Alcohol Awareness for Managers and Supervisors (Canadian Model)
For supervisors, forepersons, lead hands, superintendents and managers who lead safety-sensitive or risk-sensitive work.
- 12 narrated video lessons in five modules
- about 4 hours (estimated)
- a 15-question final exam
- a 91-page Student Reference Guide with 13 leader tools
- $34.99 CAD plus GST per learner
Buying for a team? Employers can buy seats for several learners in one order, and 10 or more seats of the same course in one order saves 10%. After you check out, complete our Group Training Student Information form so we can set up each learner’s account.
Why it matters
Why Drug and Alcohol Training Matters in Safety-Sensitive Work
Impairment isn’t only about alcohol or illegal drugs. Cannabis, prescription and over-the-counter medications, fatigue, illness and stress can all reduce a person’s ability to work safely. In safety-sensitive work, where a mistake can seriously hurt the worker, their crew or the public, that reduced ability is the risk that matters.
The law sits underneath any policy. Across Canada, OH&S law places duties on employers, supervisors and workers to protect health and safety, and section 217.1 of the Criminal Code places a legal duty on anyone who directs how work is done to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm. Human rights law adds another layer: substance dependence can be a disability, so employers must handle impairment fairly, protect personal information and consider accommodation.
When everyone knows their part, the results show up in day-to-day work:
- fewer incidents and near misses
- fewer WCB claims and lost days
- leaders who act on facts, not hunches
- decisions that hold up if challenged
- workers who ask for help early
- stronger due diligence, COR and SECOR audits and owner prequalification
This is awareness-level training. It isn’t a certification, it isn’t legal or medical advice, it doesn’t decide whether anyone is fit for work and it isn’t approved by any regulator. It doesn’t replace your employer’s own alcohol and drug policy, its procedures or your jurisdiction’s OH&S law.
Leaders who act on what they seeFacts, reasonable grounds and the policy’s process
Fit for duty, every shiftWorkers who know the rules and speak up earlyCourse content
What Does Drug and Alcohol Training Cover?
The worker course covers what every worker in safety-sensitive work needs to know:
- impairment, fitness for duty and safety-sensitive work
- the Canadian Model’s work rule and medication rule
- how alcohol, cannabis and other drugs affect work
- medications and other causes of impairment
- testing under the Canadian Model
- privacy, human rights and the duty to accommodate
- recognizing and reporting suspected impairment
- getting help: EAP, assessment and returning to work
The managers and supervisors course covers the leader’s side of the same policy:
- your duties under OH&S law, the Criminal Code and the policy
- possible signs of alcohol, cannabis and other drug use
- medication notices and possible medical emergencies
- reasonable grounds, from observation to action
- incident testing, the testing process and results
- privacy, human rights and fair process
- hard conversations, EAP referral and return to work
- fit-for-duty crew culture, fatigue, stress and mental health, coaching and managing the program
Both courses use narrated video lessons with real workplace examples and decision points, a knowledge check after every lesson that requires 100% to continue, a final assessment that requires 80% to pass with unlimited retries, a downloadable Student Reference Guide and a Certificate of Completion.
In a possible medical emergency, both courses follow the same standard: call 911 first, stay with the person and follow the dispatcher’s directions. The policy process waits until the person is safe.
The Canadian Model
Drug and Alcohol Training Based on the Canadian Model
The Canadian Model for Providing a Safe Workplace is a best practice guide for alcohol and drug policies, published by the Construction Owners Association of Alberta (COAA) and Energy Safety Canada. Many owners and contractors in construction, oil and gas and related industries base their policies on it, and many sites expect workers and supervisors to understand it before they arrive.
It sets out a work rule for safety-sensitive work, a medication rule, testing circumstances such as site access, reasonable grounds and post-incident testing, and a path to assessment and help through employee assistance programs and substance abuse expert evaluations. Both courses explain those pieces in plain language and show how they play out on a real shift.
Two points matter for every learner. 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. Testing is also legally sensitive in Canada. In CEP Local 30 v. Irving Pulp & Paper (2013), the Supreme Court of Canada upheld a ruling that struck down random alcohol testing at a mill where there was no evidence of a real alcohol problem.
Calgary Safety Consultants based these courses on the Canadian Model, but they aren’t the official Canadian Model and aren’t affiliated with or endorsed by COAA or Energy Safety Canada. The leadership course isn’t designed or claimed to meet the U.S. Department of Transportation supervisor training rule, so leaders who supervise U.S. DOT-regulated drivers or workers should check that rule with their employer.
One policy, applied the same wayClear duties, fair process and the right contactsBeyond training
Need Help With Your Alcohol and Drug Program?
Training works best when the policy behind it is clear, current and applied the same way on every crew. If your alcohol and drug policy is out of date, doesn’t match the sites you work on or isn’t connected to your hazard assessments, supervision and records, our consultants can help.
We review alcohol and drug policies and procedures as part of our OHS compliance audit and safety program gap assessment, build them into new safety programs and help keep them current through our safety program maintenance and compliance support. If you’re working toward COR or SECOR, see our COR consulting and safety program support. You can see the full range on our workplace safety consulting services page.
How the online courses work
How Online Drug and Alcohol Training Works
Choose and enrol
Pick the worker or leadership course and enrol on its course page, or buy seats for your team and send us each learner’s details with the Group Training Student Information form.
Work through the lessons
Watch each narrated lesson, read the notes and pass the three-question knowledge check before moving on. Stop and return whenever you need to.
Pass the final assessment
Complete the final quiz or final exam with a score of 80% or more, then download your Certificate of Completion.
Use what you learned
Use the Student Reference Guide’s checklists and tools on the job, and check them against your employer’s own policy, contacts and forms.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions About Drug and Alcohol Training
Clear answers about who the training is for, how it’s delivered, how long it takes, what it covers and how to enrol a team.
What is drug and alcohol training?
Drug and alcohol training teaches workers and leaders how alcohol, cannabis, other drugs, medications and other causes of impairment affect safe work, and what an alcohol and drug policy expects of them. Our courses are based on the Canadian Model for Providing a Safe Workplace and cover fitness for duty, the work rule and medication rule, testing, privacy and human rights, and how to get help.
Which course should I take?
Workers in safety-sensitive jobs should take Drug and Alcohol Awareness (Canadian Model). Supervisors, forepersons, lead hands, superintendents and managers should take Drug and Alcohol Awareness for Managers and Supervisors (Canadian Model), which covers the leader’s side of the policy, including reasonable grounds, incident testing and return to work.
Is this reasonable grounds training for supervisors?
The managers and supervisors course teaches leaders how to recognize possible signs of impairment, describe what they observe, act on reasonable grounds under their policy, keep the worker and crew safe and record the facts. It’s awareness-level training. Your employer’s policy and procedures decide exactly how reasonable grounds are handled on your site.
Is this official Canadian Model training?
No. Calgary Safety Consultants based these courses on the Canadian Model for Providing a Safe Workplace, but they aren’t official Canadian Model training and aren’t affiliated with or endorsed by COAA or Energy Safety Canada. The Canadian Model is a voluntary industry guideline, not law, and your employer’s own policy is what applies on your site.
Is the training available onsite or as a live class?
The two courses are offered as self-paced online training, so learners can start at any time and work at their own pace. If you’d like help with your alcohol and drug policy or program, book a free 30-minute Consultation.
How long does the training take?
The worker course takes about 2.5 hours, including about 2 hours of lesson video. The managers and supervisors course takes about 4 hours, including about 3 hours 14 minutes of lesson video. Both are self-paced, so learners can stop and return whenever they need to.
Do learners receive a certificate?
Yes. Learners who complete every lesson and knowledge check and pass the final assessment can download a Certificate of Completion. The certificate records completion of awareness-level online training. It isn’t a certification and doesn’t show that any legal training requirement has been met.
Does the leadership course meet U.S. DOT supervisor training requirements?
No. The course isn’t designed or claimed to meet the U.S. Department of Transportation supervisor training rule. Leaders who supervise U.S. DOT-regulated drivers or workers should check that requirement with their employer.
How much does the training cost, and can I enrol my team?
Each course is priced per learner, plus GST, and the current price is shown on its course page. Employers can buy seats for several learners in one order, and a 10% group discount applies to 10 or more seats of the same course. After you check out, complete our Group Training Student Information form so we can set up each learner’s account.
Get started
Start Your Drug and Alcohol Training Today
Give your workers and leaders the same clear picture of fitness for duty, the policy and what to do when something doesn’t look right. Enrol online today, or book a free 30-minute Consultation to talk through your alcohol and drug program.
Training a team?
Group enrolment for online courses
Enrol your crew, supervisors or safety committee in any of our online courses. Buy your enrolments online, then complete our Group Training Student Information form so we can set up an individual account for each worker. Each worker completes the training online and receives a certificate of completion. Training 10 or more workers on the same course? A 10% group discount is applied automatically at checkout. For instructor-led training or a custom group arrangement, use the form below to request a group quote.