FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 1997-04-16

Canadian labs to drug-test U.S.-bound motor carriers

Canadian truck and bus drivers no longer need to send urine samples to the United States for drug testing if they want to drive on U.S. roads. They can now have the testing done in Canada.

The United States Department of Transportation recently agreed to accept urine drug test results from Canadian laboratories that have been accredited by the Standards Council of Canada under a new version of its Laboratory Accreditation Program for Substance Abuse (LAPSA).

The testing is part of a U.S. workplace safety campaign that covers any motor carrier operating within that country. Large Canadian firms with 50 or more drivers have been taking part since July 1, 1996 and small firms will be required to do so by July 1, 1997. Some 8,500 Canadian motor carriers are registered to operate in the U.S., and over $110 billion in Canadian goods crosses into the U.S. by truck each year.

The recent agreement caps more than a year of negotiations between the two countries involving a variety of agencies and resulting in some changes to the LAPSA program.

One Canadian laboratory - Novamann Inc. of Mississauga, Ontario - already meets the new LAPSA requirements and has begun doing urine drug testing for the purposes of the U.S. regulations. Two others - Dynacare Laboratories of London, Ontario and Dynacare Kasper Medical Laboratories of Edmonton, Alberta - are expected to meet the new requirements soon. They are currently sending samples to the U.S. for testing by laboratories that have been accredited by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Standards Council is the Crown corporation with the mandate to promote efficient and effective standardization. The Standards Council operates accreditation programs for a variety of laboratories, as well as certification organizations and registration organizations. These accreditation programs are based on international criteria and serve as the basis for the recognition of Canadian test reports, certifications and registrations in other countries.

For more information on LAPSA, contact Yves Roy, phone (613) 238-3222; fax (613) 995-4564 or e-mail [email protected].

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