Prosecutor: Strike plea for deal

OTTAWA — The federal director of public prosecutions is officially asking a court to toss out a plea from SNC-Lavalin to spare the company from criminal proceedings.

SNC-Lavalin faces legal trouble over allegations that it paid millions of dollars in bribes to obtain government business in Libya, which would be a crime under Canadian law.

The company unsuccessfully pressed the director of prosecutions to negotiate a “remediation agreement,” a legal means of holding an organization to account for wrongdoing without a formal finding of guilt.

The director told SNC-Lavalin in October that negotiating a remediation agreement would be inappropriate in this case, prompting the company to ask the Federal Court for an order

In its Oct. 19 submission to the Federal Court, SNC-Lavalin said it provided the prosecutor’s office with information showing the objectives of the remediation provisions were “easily met,” including details of SNC-Lavalin’s efforts to implement a worldclass ethics and compliance program, as well as the complete turnover of the company’s senior management and board of directors.

In a Jan. 8 response filed with the court, the director of prosecutions said SNC-Lavalin’s argument is “bereft of any possibility of success and should be struck.”