Members of MNP were on hand yesterday to help employers through what they can do to prepare for the upcoming legalization of cannabis. 

Janice Decelles with MNP shared that much of her presentation was from a legal perspective and we're going to talk about incorporating that into the workplace policies that companies have.

"In anticipation of recreational cannabis coming down the line, we're going to talk about how they can update their drug and alcohol policies to include cannabis."

"We'll be talking about drug and alcohol policies, accommodation policies."

"We're going to start off by reminding employers about their duties for health and safety from a Saskatchewan employer perspective."

"We'll be referencing things like the Saskatchewan Employment Act, we'll be talking about what a policy is and how it's a tool that employers can use to manage their workforce because bottom line, what it comes down to is managing their workforce."

She added that this is an issue best met head-on. 

"They're going to have to deal with the situation immediately. They can't turn a blind eye to that, they're going to have to address the problem. They're going to have to talk to the employee. They're going to have to find out is this just a one-off? Is this a substance dependence issue because that will depend on what the employer does next."

"You can have a good policy in place, those are the rules by which employees have to live by in your organization."

"You've got to state what you expect from employees and make it very clear to them what's going to happen if they don't play by the rules so to speak."

READ MORE: The Estevan Chamber Of Commerce And The MNP Team Up To Host Cannabis Workshop