(ANSWERED) SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. is a Canadian company based in Montreal that provides engineering, procurement, and construction services to various industries, including mining and metallurgy, oil and gas, environment and water, infrastructure, and clean power.
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SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. is a Canadian company based in Montreal that provides engineering, procurement, and construction services to various industries, including mining and metallurgy, oil and gas, environment and water, infrastructure, and clean power.
The SNC-Lavalin affair was a political scandal involving attempted political interference with the justice system by the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The Parliament of Canada’s Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion found that Trudeau improperly influenced then Minister of Justice and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene in an ongoing criminal case against Quebec-based construction company SNC-Lavalin.
The affair became public when The Globe and Mail published an article uncovering the allegations on 7 February 2019, shortly after Wilson-Raybould had been shuffled to another cabinet position. Four days later, Ethics Commissioner Dion announced he would investigate the allegations. Wilson-Raybould resigned from cabinet later that day. This was followed by the resignation of Gerald Butts, the Principal Secretary to Trudeau. This was then followed by the resignation of fellow Liberal cabinet minister Jane Philpott, over the government’s handling of the affair. The House of Commons’ Justice Committee held three hearings into the affair. Wilson-Raybould, Butts, and Michael Wernick, Clerk of the Privy Council testified before the committee. Wilson-Raybould said there was a breach of prosecutorial independence when members of the government pressured her to offer SNC-Lavalin a DPA instead of continuing with a criminal prosecution. Butts and Wernick testified that they had contacted Wilson-Raybould to find a “political solution” after the decision to not offer SNC-Lavalin a DPA was made. Controversially, Wilson-Raybould revealed that she had secretly recorded a conversation she had with Wernick while she was Attorney General.
Following the hearings, Wernick announced his early retirement from the Privy Council. Leader of the Official Opposition Andrew Scheer called for Trudeau’s resignation. He further accused Trudeau of political interference, lying to Canadians, and corrupt conduct. Trudeau responded to those comments with a threat of a libel lawsuit through his lawyer. Opposition parties and former attorneys-general asked the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to investigate whether Trudeau’s conduct qualifies as obstruction of justice. In April, Trudeau expelled Wilson-Raybould and Philpott from the Liberal caucus.
After a six-month-long investigation, Ethics Commissioner Dion issued a report that concluded that Trudeau had contravened Section 9 of the federal Conflict of Interest Act by improperly pressuring Wilson-Raybould. Dion wrote that while Wilson-Raybould was never officially directed to interfere, this influence was “tantamount to political direction”. Dion did not find that any actual political interference in the prosecution occurred; however, he reported he did not have access to all of the evidence. Under the Act, there are no sanctions specified for the violation. After the commissioner’s report was released, the Prime Minister released a statement both taking responsibility for and defending his actions. The opposition leaders have called for further investigations.
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Evaluation and Feedback
Activity/Competencies Demonstrated
Grade
Content (60)
a. Identify the elements of the case.
/10
b. Evaluate the ethical elements in this case
/10
c. Support the paper with appropriate sources, including at least four academic sources (books or juried articles such as those found in the YU library)
/15
d. Identify the impact of the unethical action on all stakeholders.
/15
e. Make an argument for the course of action that Enron should take.
/20
Communication (25)
a. Uses language clearly and effectively
/5
b. Information organized intelligently and holistically (i.e. not simply answers to questions)
/10
c. Proper introduction and conclusion to paper
/5
Attention to Detail (15)
a. APA Formatting (title, headings & references)
/5
b. Spelling and grammar
/5
Total
/100
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Introduction
The SNC-Lavalin affair was a political scandal involving the attempted political interference with the justice system by the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The scandal centered around Quebec-based engineering and construction company, SNC-Lavalin, which was facing criminal charges for fraud and corruption. The controversy began when allegations emerged that members of the Prime Minister’s Office had pressured then-Minister of Justice and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene in the ongoing criminal case against SNC-Lavalin and offer the company a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) instead of proceeding with a criminal prosecution.
Background
SNC-Lavalin is a Canadian company based in Montreal that provides engineering, procurement, and construction services to various industries, including mining and metallurgy, oil and gas, environment and water, infrastructure, and clean power. In 2015, the company was charged with fraud and corruption in connection with its business activities in Libya. Following the charges, SNC-Lavalin sought to avoid a criminal trial and instead enter into a DPA, a legal mechanism that allows a company to avoid prosecution in exchange for paying fines and implementing certain remedial measures.
In early 2019, The Globe and Mail published an article revealing that members of the Prime Minister’s Office had pressured Wilson-Raybould, who was then serving as Minister of Justice and Attorney General, to intervene in the SNC-Lavalin case and offer the company a DPA. Wilson-Raybould, who had previously decided against offering the company a DPA, resigned from cabinet four days after the article was published. This was followed by the resignation of Gerald Butts, the Principal Secretary to Trudeau, and later, the resignation of fellow Liberal cabinet minister Jane Philpott, over the government’s handling of the affair.
Ethics Investigation
In response to the allegations, the Parliament of Canada’s Ethics Commissioner, Mario Dion, launched an investigation into the matter. After a six-month-long investigation, Dion issued a report in which he concluded that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had contravened Section 9 of the federal Conflict of Interest Act by improperly pressuring Wilson-Raybould. Dion wrote that while Wilson-Raybould was never officially directed to interfere, this influence was “tantamount to political direction”. However, Dion did not find that any actual political interference in the prosecution occurred, but also stated that he did not have access to all of the evidence.
The report was met with mixed reactions from the public and political leaders. Leader of the Official Opposition Andrew Scheer called for Justin Trudeau’s resignation and accused him of political interference, lying to Canadians, and corrupt conduct. On the other hand, the Prime Minister released a statement in which he took responsibility for his actions, but defended them as being motivated by the desire to save jobs at SNC-Lavalin.
Consequences
As a result of the scandal, several high-ranking officials resigned from their positions, including Wilson-Raybould, Butts, and Wernick. In April, Trudeau expelled Wilson-Raybould and Philpott from the Liberal caucus. Opposition leaders also called for further investigations, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigated whether Prime Minister Trudeau’s conduct qualified as obstruction of justice. However, under the Conflict of Interest Act, there are no sanctions specified for the violation, hence no further legal action was taken.
Conclusion
The SNC-Lavalin affair was a significant political scandal that shook the Canadian government and brought attention to the issue of political interference in the justice system. The findings of the Ethics Commissioner’s investigation
