The Liberal government has its eyes on changing the ethical procurement rules that regulate the length of time a company can remain banned from bidding on federal contracts, a revision of policy that could offer SNC-Lavalin another means of dealing with the fraud and corruption charges it faces.
SNC-Lavalin faces charges stemming from an RCMP investigation into shady business dealings done in Libya. If SNC-Lavalin is found guilty, it could be banned from bidding on federal contracts for 10 years.
Trudeau’s turning a blind eye to allegations of corruption has led to a media fiasco.
Public Services and Procurement Canada is proposing granting itself more flexibility in deciding how long a company is banned from bidding when convicted.
SNC-Lavalin is seeking out a type of “plea bargain,” in which they admit wrongdoing and pay a fine, but also get to avoid going to trial by doing so. Last September, the federal director of public prosecutions rejected the request to do so. With this, the prosecutions would continue in court.
If SNC-Lavalin is convicted, Public Services could potentially eliminate a “one-size-fits-all punishment period” for companies like SNC-Lavalin that are found guilty of offences that run afoul of the federal Integrity Regime.
A move that could be unpopular to many, as it does appear like it’s another corporate loophole found by SNC-Lavalin to avoid facing any real consequences, and thus undermining the entire scandal that surrounded Jody Wilson-Raybould's claims.
This rewrite by Public Services aims to set out rules to address how to treat companies convicted of offences such as corruption, bribery, bid-rigging and money laundering, rules that ensures that Canada “does business only with ethical suppliers,” according to the Public Services’ website.
Public Services held a 33-day public consultation last fall on a proposed new “ineligibility and suspension policy” that would leave it to officials in the department to set the ban period.
The new rules say the Registrar of Ineligibility and Suspension at Public Services will have the final say as to what length of suspension should be applied, taking into account a number of other criteria, including repeat offenses, remedial measures, and actively addressing the wrongdoing.
According to a report by the Globe and Mail, a Public Services spokesperson could not yet answer whether this new potential revised policy could be of help to SNC-Lavalin.
The optics here are not great, as it can be seen as another potential way for Lavalin to escape real consequences, and essentially rendering the entire fiasco as redundant. It sounds like a way for a company who did wrong and caused a major headache to a sitting Prime Minister to walk away with a slap on the wrist, and in turn, Trudeau as well.
SNC-Lavaling claims that the executives who were responsible for the alleged bribery conducted in Libya throughout 2001 to 2011 have since left the company, which within these new proposed rules could work in the favor of SNC-Lavalin.
The Montreal engineering giant faces one count of corruption and one count of fraud under the criminal code. This could lead to a ban on bidding on contracts for SNC-Lavalin, The list of companies that currently face procurement bans by Ottawa is limited to only three other firms. All of which are much smaller than SNC-Lavalin.
Ms. Wilson-Raybould is expected to testify to the justice committee at 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday. She retained former Supreme Court of Canada justice Thomas Cromwell to advise her on what she can say without violating solicitor-client privilege.
This has without a doubt been a nightmare for Trudeau, who has recently been trying his best to use political jargon to avoid answering any and all questions related to the SNC-Lavalin affair.
The story itself is like if a skeleton in the Prime Minister’s closet came back to life and began to haunt him. The amount that the story has changed since the first report by the Globe and Mail has been shocking, as the PM originally flatly denied the claims.
In all media appearances since, Trudeau has been asked about the scandal, all to no avail. With the story coming to a potential climax, it will be interesting to see how the PM will continue to weather the storm.
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