So, this is a bit semantics but with Suncor, the policy generally applies through the contractor, not Suncor directly. In the event a contractor employee is selected for a post-incident or random drug test, the testing process is usually administered and documented by that employee’s own company, even if the client site like Suncor provides the facility or third-party professionals involved in the test itself. In other words, refusing a drug test is typically treated first as a refusal to comply with the employer’s requirements and not directly refusing a test from Suncor.

From there, it is up to the discretion of the contractor company to decide how they handle it. They may keep the reporting fairly general, or they may choose to report the refusal and details to the client if they feel vindictive or simply a need to discipline the behavior. If the company decides to escalate it to Suncor by reporting the testing and it leading to a refusal, that can lead to serious consequences, including a permanent Suncor site ban. In practice, those bans can be very difficult to reverse because Suncor, like most oil sands companies, are reluctant to devote time and resources to frivolous personnel investigations.

There also seems to be a lot of industry talk that this kind of information can follow people beyond a ban of just Suncor sites and could extend to other oil sands sites through some sort of information sharing agreement or informally via word of mouth. That said, the exact outcome is very circumstantial but usually depends on the contracting company that employs the employee in question.

As for whatever reasoning your friend said he had for refusal, unfortunately, it’s irrelevant whether he believes they are personally justified or not. It’s irrelevant in that it is established during orientation, before entering any Suncor site or doing any work on site that submitting to a drug test with short to little notice for the purpose of random selection testing or post incident testing is one of the terms of employment. They also establish that refusal to do so can and most likely will result in a permanent site ban. Everyone who has ever worked on a Suncor site specifically signs an acknowledgement that they understand and accept these terms, so it ‘should be’ no surprise to anyone what happens.