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legislation across Canada, employers have a duty to provide a safe work environment and take all reasonable precautions to protect the health and safety of employees and others in the workplace. This duty is known as due diligence. Due diligence is the level of judgement, care, prudence, determination and activity that a person would reasonably be expected to do under particular circumstances. Reasonably practicable has been described by the Labour Program (Canada) as taking precautions that are not only possible, but that are also suitable or rational, given the particular situation. Determining what should be done is usually done on a case by case basis. This concept is similar in other jurisdictions. In addition to legislation regarding the recreational use by the general public, workplaces should consult with the government agency responsible for occupational health and safety in their jurisdiction. For example, some jurisdictions specifically include provisions about impairment in their legislation (current as of August 2018): • workers must inform employers of any impairment (British Columbia, Yukon) • workers must not enter or remain at work while impaired (British Columbia, Yukon, Newfoundland) • others have industry-specific (e.g., mining, diving, transportation) provisions (Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Federal) To exercise due diligence, an employer should work with the health and safety committee to create and implement a plan that identifies all possible workplace hazards, including the impacts of possible impairment, and carries out the appropriate corrective action to prevent incidents or injuries.
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