Some time ago (2017), an employee brought a bag of what was presumed to be cocaine to their private sector workplace located in Alberta, Canada. The employer demanded the employee hand the item over (no threats were made, the employee was simply told to hand it over and did as requested), started internal investigations, and reported the incident (and handed over the confiscated property) to the police.
Was the employer legally allowed to confiscate the employee's property?
As an employee, you mustn't cause damage to the company. As an employer, you don't allow your employees to cause damage to the company. If the employee tries to bring something in that would cause damage, then the company can take appropriate measures to prevent the damage.
"Confiscate" meaning "keeping hold of it and returning it when the employee leaves" would most likely be Ok. Calling the police when something is a strong indication of a crime would be Ok. If the chef in a halal restaurant brings in bacon sandwiches for his lunch, I suppose they would be confiscated (because it would be damaging to the business if customers found out) - as an example of something that is entirely legal but damaging in this particular situation.
