The union representing City of Laval public works employees is contesting a decision by the city to fire three employees after they were filmed by a resident while they were using marijuana on the job.
According a report last week by the TVA network, the resident spotted the employees in early March in a Laval neighbourhood where they were working.
While two of the workers were full-time and had 16 and eight years experience respectively, the third employee was part-time, said TVA.
The network said the three were initially suspended with pay while an investigation was undertaken, but were terminated permanently in April.
While the union hasn’t commented on whether the workers were using cannabis, they consider the punishment to be out of proportion, while noting that the employees themselves haven’t been allowed to view the video.
Following the federal government’s regularization of the sale and use of cannabis in 2018, many municipalities in Quebec adopted new by-laws which, among other things, established strict rules prohibiting the use of cannabis by employees while on the job.
