Top prosecutor pushes back on SNC charges
Official refused to be swayed by company’s demands to strike a deal, court documents show
OTTAWA— Canada’s top public prosecutor is staunchly defending her prosecution of Quebec engineering giant SNCLavalin on corruption charges, saying her office must remain independent from political interference and judicial supervision.
As a political storm rages over whether the Prime Minister’s Office pressured former attorney general Jody WilsonRaybould to cut a deal with SNC-Lavalin, a judicial battle to force the Crown’s hand is also unfolding.
The company wants the Federal Court to order Kathleen Roussel, the director of public prosecutions and deputy attorney general, to issue “an invitation to negotiate” a mediation deal — one that would spare it from a trial that could lead to a potentially business-killing corporate criminal conviction.
But Roussel is resisting the high-profile effort to change her mind about prosecuting the Quebec company.
In Federal Court documents obtained by the Star, Roussel responds to SNCLavalin, saying that it has no legal right or entitlement to any deal; that prosecutors are independent with broad discretion on how to proceed with charges; and that under the Constitution, prosecutors are free from political or judicial interference.
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. and two of its subsidiaries have pleaded not guilty to two criminal charges — bribing a foreign public official and fraud — connected to bribes allegedly paid between 2001 and 2011 to the Libyan regime of Moammar Gadhafi.
The company says that any wrongdoing was carried out by two former employees without the company’s knowledge or consent.
Director of public prosecutions Kathleen Roussel defended the independence of her office
MONTREAL— Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer met with the head of SNC-Lavalin in May 2018 to discuss criminal charges facing the Quebec construction giant.
SNC-Lavalin has pleaded not guilty to one count each of fraud and corruption filed in 2015 by the RCMP against SNC-Lavalin and two of its subsidiaries.
The RCMP alleges SNC-Lavalin paid nearly $47.7 million to public officials in Libya between 2001 and 2011 to influence government decisions.
Scheer’s office confirmed the Conservative leader discussed the “deferred prosecution agreement” (DPA) sought by SNC-Lavalin to avoid criminal fraud and corruption charges.
The meeting with SNC-Lavalin CEO Neil Bruce took place last May 29, months after the Liberal government introduced so-called “DPAs” in its omnibus budget bill.
“Mr. Scheer met with a representative from SNC-Lavalin and was briefed on the company’s position with regards to deferred prosecution agreements,” wrote Brock Harrison, Scheer’s director of communications, in a statement.
“The meeting was one of several SNC-Lavalin sought out and held with MPs from all parties during the budget debate.”
But when asked if Scheer had a position on whether SNC-Lavalin should get such a deal, Harrison would only say that Scheer “is opposed to politicians interfering to get charges dropped for accused corporate criminals.”
Harrison was referring to allegations first reported by the Globe and Mail that officials with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office attempted to pressure former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to push for a deal for SNC-Lavalin.
The independent Public Prosecution Service has refused SNC-Lavalin’s appeal for a DPA. But the justice minister can overrule that decision, which neither Wilson-Raybould nor her successor, David Lametti, has done.
Trudeau has called elements within the Globe’s report false, although has not specified which elements. Wilson-Raybould has remained silent on the report.
Opposition parties have demanded formal investigations into the allegations, including hearings by the House of Commons Justice Committee involving Trudeau’s senior political staff, the Clerk of the Privy Council, and Wilson-Raybould herself.
While the political battle lines have been drawn, it’s less clear where each party stands on the greater question of whether or not SNC-Lavalin should be granted a deferred prosecution.
If convicted, SNC-Lavalin would be barred from bidding on federal contracts for a decade – a serious and perhaps fatal blow to a business that employs thousands. A DPA would likely come with stiff fines and corporate reforms,.
The opposition New Democrats, however, are unequivocal in their position. Asked if SNC-Lavalin should get a deal, NDP ethics critic Charlie Angus said “Hell no ... SNC has a long and very disturbing history of corruption and political interference, and there has to be consequences.”
When asked what that would mean for the workers at SNC, Angus said that federal work SNC bids on are jobs that must and will get done.
“The fact is SNC is bidding on jobs. The work is going to be done. They’re bidding on many federal buildings where there are public civil servants doing these jobs,” Angus said.
“They have to set themselves to proper corporate standards, otherwise they shouldn’t be in business.
“Don’t cry on our (shoulder) for your corporate bad behaviour,” he added.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is also listed as having met with SNC-Lavalin CEO Neil Bruce last year, but Angus said the meeting was actually an event with the Quebec Chamber of Commerce where Bruce asked Singh a question about DPAs from the floor.
Speaking to reporters in British Columbia Sunday, Singh said “nothing about this passes the smell test.”
“We’ve got a government that’s been lobbied by a multinational corporation to effectively drop criminal charges. Then it looks like the Attorney General was pressured to drop charges.”