The legal implications of the SNC-Lavalin Controversy

Sunny Ways has given in to gloomy days for the federal Liberals after former Attorney General, Jody Wilson-Raybould blew the whistle on the PMO for trying to pressure her into giving SNC-LAVALIN a Deferred Prosecution Agreement for it’s paying the Gadhafi regime with millions of dollars to secure infrastructure contracts in the North African country. It all came to light during the Arab Spring when several Middle East nations faced uprisings, including in Libya.

 

For it’s part, SNC-LAVALIN faces charges and a possible conviction could mean the company would be barred from bidding on federal government contracts for 10 years which would be a serious blow to it’s bottom line. It’s share prices have tumbled since the federal court rejected the company’s request for a remediation agreement. SNC-LAVALIN has maintained it should get a DPA because the people responsible for the fraud and bribery are gone, there is new leadership and some new board members.

 

In a veiled threat, SNC-LAVALIN points to the thousands of jobs it creates and the possibility of moving it’s head office out of Montreal. It was at this point, that the PMO allegedly got involved with several meetings with the Attorney General to suggest that DPA could save them a lot of headaches heading into the October election. And to add another twist to Trudeau’s shorts, is that the new CAQ government in Quebec is applying pressure to the Federal Government to save SNC-LAVALIN from a criminal trail. The world is watching as well.