Patricia Adams, economist and executive director at Probe International, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss why she thinks SNC-Lavalin must go through a criminal probe if Canadians are “ever to know who did what” in the case.

Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) are not effective deterrents but trials are, says Patricia Adams of Probe International.

“[DPAs are] all done behind the scenes, behind doors. The detail doesn’t come out. You don’t actually know who is responsible for the crime. In a trial, you identify people and people go to jail,” she says, noting that in the United States, use of DPAs have not deterred the companies that have used them from recommitting crimes.

Ms. Adams cites another famous case involving the Canadian engineering company Acres International. The trial of Acres, convicted in 2002 in relation to a $12-billion water project in the African country of Lesotho, revealed that one of the masterminds of the bribe scheme was none other than Canada’s honorary consul in Lesotho, a cabinet appointee of the Chrétien government. The trial also exposed the great lengths Canada’s then federal government was willing to go to defend Acres’ financial interests, enlisting the efforts of the Canadian International Development Agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Canadian Embassy in Washington. [Read more on this here]

Watch Patricia Adams make a case for putting SNC-Lavalin on trial. Click on the image to play.