Legal expert Andrew Roman digs deep into the bombshell report on the SNC-Lavalin affair issued by Canada’s Ethics Commissioner, Mario Dion, and criticisms of that report by Errol Mendes, a professor of constitutional and international law at the University of Ottawa. Who was right, who was wrong? Read on.
See no evil: How Canada is bankrolling companies accused of bid-rigging, graft and human-rights violation
A Globe and Mail investigation of Export Development Canada (EDC) reveals “a pattern of secrecy and lax supervision”. Probe International’s Patricia Adams says EDC is an unaccountable “institution out of control”.
What does EDC do? A guide to ‘Canada’s secret trade weapon’
Here’s what you need to know about the most powerful financial institution you almost never hear about.
No sunshine needed: EDC’s response to our request for transparency
Export Development Canada responds to Probe International’s inquiry regarding allegations of bribery related to its support of SNC-Lavalin’s Matala Dam project in Angola. Not a reassuring read. According to EDC, we the […]
Export Development Canada investigation into SNC-Lavalin
The news EDC is to investigate allegations that its support of SNC-Lavalin’s Matala Dam project in Angola was used to pay bribes has us on pins and needles. How thorough will the investigation be? Will we ever learn the results?
What the SNC board may have known about the firm’s dealings in Libya — like the office safe with $10M cash
High-paid former directors could face tough questions if SNC-Lavalin bribery trial goes ahead. “What’s your role on the board if not to protect the corporation from acts of bribery and from doing things that are illegal?” asks Patricia Adams of Probe International.
SNC-Lavalin: Power and politics
Legal expert Andrew Roman joins host Vassy Kapelos on Power & Politics (CBC News) to provide legal analysis of the SNC-Lavalin case.
SNC-Lavalin insider’s bribery allegations spark probe by Crown agency that loaned the firm billions
Export Development Canada launches review of 2011 deal with engineering company. This CBC News report includes comments from Patricia Adams of Probe International who says if there’s any truth to the allegations EDC money was used for bribes, it implicates all Canadians: “[EDC] operates on the Queen’s credit card. That means that it operates on our credit cards.”
Confidence in the justice system rests on ‘SNC-Lavalin going to trial’: Economist Patricia Adams
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.
It’s your decision …
The Prime Minister‘s real message was: “You can either do what I want or you can do what you want. The decision is yours.” Third in a series on the SNC-Lavalin controversy by Andrew Roman.
Rumours of death: the panic over SNC-Lavalin
Did the Prime Minister’s Office panic over SNC-Lavalin’s story of impeding doom? Or did they have real numbers showing the future effects of a criminal prosecution? Second in a series by Andrew Roman.
Put SNC-Lavalin on trial
DPAs don’t cut it, says Patricia Adams of Probe International. A trial here or elsewhere would not only expose who knew what and when within the firm; it would also expose who in government might have been involved.
The Prime Minister and the Attorney General
The recent controversy between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould over the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin has been front-page news for days. Was this a casual conversation or improper interference with the administration of justice? This blog post by former lawyer Andrew Roman discusses the issues from a legal standpoint. The bottom line: there is no law prohibiting either of them from speaking publicly about their conversation.
Trudeau is making Canada safe for corruption again with the SNC-Lavalin case
Canada has come full circle, with prosecution of corporate crimes again determined by politics. Read the latest from Probe International’s Patricia Adams on SNC-Lavalin in today’s National Post opinion.
DPAs: Meet the legal tool central to the Prime Minister’s Office controversy
What are deferred prosecution agreements (or remediation agreements), how did Canada get them, what are the potential benefits and what are the down sides? Patricia Adams of Probe International is firmly in the latter camp: “… they turn the prosecutor into the prosecutor, the judge and the jury. Because of that they are undermining the rule of law — they are essentially political instruments.”