SNC-LAVALIN AT A GLANCE

I. Update: Ethics Commissioner’s Report II. The Issue III. What is a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA)? IV. What This Is and Is Not About V. My Position VI. Next Steps VII. Relevant Testimony and News Links

Updated Summary on the SNC-Lavalin Situation (September 2019):

Ethics Commissioner’s Report

In mid-August, Mario Dion, the Ethics & Conflict of Interest Commissioner for the Government of released his report on the SNC Lavalin situation.

After the report was released, the Prime Minister issued a statement responding to the conclusions of the report by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.

In addition, Anne McLellan, the former Minister of Justice & Attorney General of Canada, has also released a report that focused on two questions related to the events that have unfolded over the last few months.

My thoughts

This is where I stand: I absolutely agree with our Prime Minister’s statement. He has accepted full responsibility for everything that has happened. As well, every politician needs to be able to ensure that every company that commits wrongdoing should be punished, that’s what the Deferred Prosecution Agreement was put into place to do: to punish those that made the decisions within the company’s leadership, as well the company as a whole, but without negatively affecting the employees, customers and retirees of that company.

I also agree that the Prime Minister should always be defending jobs. In Davenport, if there was a company whose executive was doing wrong, I would want that executive to be punished to the full extent of the law, but I do not want employees, customers or retirees who had no hand in the wrongdoing to be punished. ------

Original Statement on the SNC-Lavalin Situation (May 2019):

(I) The Issue

Simply put, the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General for Canada, the Hon. Jody Wilson-Raybould, has accused the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and other senior government officials of undue pressure and inappropriate interference in a judicial decision concerning whether or not to pursue a deferred prosecution agreement for SNC-Lavalin.

(II) What is a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA)?

In simple terms, a DPA is very similar to a plea bargain. It involves an agreement between the prosecutor and a company, whereby the company agrees to a specific set of terms (i.e. sanctions, fines, jail time, other consequences) in exchange for not being prosecuted. The negotiations to set the terms of the agreement would be done confidentially, but once an agreement is reached a judge would have to approve it before it is made public. DPAs have been commonly used for many years in the UK and in the US, in similar cases as that facing SNC Lavalin.

The DPA is a tool that allows companies to be punished for their wrongdoing, while minimizing any negative implications on those that were not involved in the wrongdoing such as employees, retirees, customers.

(III) What This Is and Is Not About

The SNC-Lavalin affair is not about the PMO preventing SNC-Lavalin from being held

accountable for any fraudulent actions that may have taken place. SNC-Lavalin should be penalized and charged to the fullest extent possible for any wrongdoing or breeches in the law.

This was about the PMO, the Clerk of the Privy Council, and other senior leaders encouraging the former Minister of Justice to explore all options - including getting a second opinion on whether a DPA should be used and doing a full analysis on the implications if a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) is not used.

SNC-Lavalin employs over 9,000 individuals across Canada, from the west coast – through central Canada – to the east coast. If SNC-Lavalin goes through a criminal trial and is convicted, they would not be able to apply for any federal government contracts in Canada for 10 years. This outcome could have devastating consequences for the company’s employees, retirees, and customers in Canada. The negative externalities of a conviction would have a significant impact on the lives of all Canadians and our economy.

(IV) My Position

I believe that this is a story of two narratives, and a story of a breakdown in trust and communications between the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the former Minister of Justice and the Attorney General, Jody Wilson-Raybould. I also believe that Ms. Wilson- Raybould felt she was unduly pressured, and that she believed there was inappropriate interference in her decision not to pursue a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA). From my understanding of the events as they have unfolded thus far, it is not clear why a second opinion on whether or not a DPA should be used was not pursued. Many lawyers have told me that it is a very common to seek a second opinion on complex issues such as the one that the government is currently facing with respect to SNC-Lavalin case as a whole.

I also believe the PMO, the Clerk of the Privy Council, and other senior political officials when they stated they did not feel that there was undue pressure placed on the former Minister of Justice. There were ten (10) phone calls over a total period of four (4) months, which seems appropriate for an issue of national importance. The phone calls were about encouraging the former Minister of Justice to explore every option available, including getting a second opinion on whether to use a DPA. There were 9,000 jobs at stake and the PMO felt it was important to explore every option in the interest of the greater economic health of so many communities that could be affected. With all of the evidence that has been presented to date,

everyone agrees, including Ms. Wilson-Raybould, that nothing illegal took place.

I also support our Prime Minister’s decision to no longer have Ms. Jody Wilson-Raybould and Ms. Jane Philpott continue to be part of the Liberal team. Both of them have broken the party’s trust and/or have indicated that they do not have confidence in our Prime Minister.

After secretly recording a phone call that occurred between her and the Clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Wernick, Ms. Wilson-Raybould lost the trust of the Liberal MP team. Ms. Philpott, on her part, has repeatedly indicated that she has lost confidence in the Liberal government and in our Prime Minister. I firmly believe that to be a member of a political party you must have full confidence in the Prime Minister and the team. That being said, I have an enormous amount of respect for what both Ms. Wilson-Raybould and Ms. Philpott accomplished in their time with our government and I wish them well with their future endeavours.

(V) Next Steps

It is important to note that there are still two key activities underway. The first is that there is currently an independent investigation underway by the Ethics Commissioner into whether there was inappropriate pressure and interference that occurred during these proceedings. I cannot stress enough that this is independent and that the Prime Minister has absolutely welcomed this investigation. Everyone involved is cooperating fully to get the case resolved in a just and ethical manner.

The second activity is that former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice/Attorney General Anne McLellan has been appointed as Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on dealing with some of the key issues that came out of the SNC-Lavalin affair. She will be looking at whether the roles of Attorney General and Minister of Justice should be split in order to avoid any future conflict between both roles (one is more political the other more independent). She will also be reviewing the operating policies and practices across the Cabinet, as well as the role of public servants and political staff in their interactions with the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada to determine how to do better. This is an important action that will benefit the government as a whole as we move forward with future proceedings.

(VI) Relevant Testimony and News Links

Below are relevant links for you to reach your own conclusion:

Justice Committee: Clerk of Privy Council (Michael Wernick) • 1st testimony • 2nd testimony

Justice Committee: Deputy Minister of Justice (Nathalie G. Drouin) • 1st testimony • 2nd testimony

Justice Committee: Gerald Butts • Testimony

Justice Committee: Jody Wilson-Raybould • Testimony

Call between Jody Wilson-Raybould & Michael Wernick • Recorded Conversation

Toronto Star • Did the Ethics Commissioner misinterpret his own act and jurisdiction?

Macleans: • The McLellan report would have ended the SNC affair before it began

If you have any further questions for me, please email me at [email protected]