MONTREAL,
May 11, 2022 /CNW
Telbec/ - SNC-Lavalin (TSX: SNC), a fully integrated professional
services and project management company with offices around the
world, announces the Quebec Superior Court's approval of a
remediation agreement (the "Remediation Agreement") following
negotiations between the Company and the Quebec Crown Prosecutor's
Office (DPCP). The Company considers the remediation agreement to
be fair and equitable, while allowing it to continue its operations
and protect more than 30,000 jobs as well as the interests of its
customers, investors and other stakeholders.
On September 23, 2021, the DPCP
invited SNC-Lavalin to negotiate a remediation agreement in
relation to charges laid against SNC-Lavalin Inc. and SNC-Lavalin
International Inc. in connection with facts that occurred between
1997 and 2004. The Charges were related to the Jacques Cartier
Bridge Refurbishment, a $128 million
project of which SNC-Lavalin was a 50 percent consortium partner.
SNC-Lavalin cooperated with the investigation of the authorities
that led to the Charges.
Remediation Agreement
The remediation agreement
includes the following provisions:
1. SNC-Lavalin's Financial Obligations
TITLE
|
SCHEDULE
|
AMOUNT
|
Forfeiture of
Property, Benefits or Advantages
|
30 days after the date
of court approval
|
$2,490,721
|
Penalty
|
6 equal instalments of
$3,022,522.50 to be made between June 30, 2023,
and December 31, 2024
|
$18,135,135
|
Victim
Surcharge
|
Payable in 6 equal
instalments of $906,756.83, on the same due dates as
the payment of the penalty
|
$5,440,541
|
Reparations to
the
victim
|
30 days after the date
of court approval
|
$3,492,380
|
TOTAL FINANCIAL
OBLIGATIONS
|
$29,558,777
|
2. Appointment of an Independent Monitor
The remediation agreement provides for the appointment of
Mark Morrison Q.C. and
Simon Seida of the law firm
BLAKE, CASSELS & GRAYDON LLP to act as independent monitor for
a period of three (3) years. The role of the independent monitor
will include the following:
- Evaluating SNC-Lavalin's Integrity Program, and making
recommendations, as appropriate, to maintain or, if necessary,
improve the program;
- Reviewing any changes or additions to, or deletions from
policies or procedures of the SNC-Lavalin Integrity Program to
assess their impact on the effectiveness of the program;
- Reviewing and testing a number of components of SNC-Lavalin's
Integrity Program to determine their effectiveness, and making
recommendations as appropriate; and
- Reviewing SNC-Lavalin's implementation of the independent
monitor's recommendations.
3. Legal Effects of the Remediation Agreement
In accordance with the applicable provisions of the Criminal
Code, following approval of the Remediation Agreement the charges
against SNC-Lavalin Inc. and SNC-Lavalin International Inc. have
been suspended and will be discontinued at the end of its term if
all conditions have been met.
"We hope this Remediation Agreement approved by the Court will
allow us to turn the page on these events, which occurred almost 20
years ago. Today, our employees know better than anyone the path we
have taken in recent years to implement a world-class integrity
program. We have extensively transformed the company in terms of
governance, operations and culture, while continuing to draw on
relevant best practices. We operate at the highest ethical
standards, and the quality of our integrity program is now
recognized as a gold standard program by independent third
parties," said Ian L. Edwards,
President and CEO, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.
Prevent, detect and respond to any risk of
wrongdoing
For almost 10 years now, SNC-Lavalin has been
implementing extensive changes in terms of governance, operations
and culture, while continuing to draw on relevant best
practices.
Governance: an effective, transparent, and independent integrity
program
- Members of the Integrity function report to the Chief ESG and
Integrity Officer, who in turn reports to the Board of Directors
(Governance, Ethics and Sustainability Committee) and
operationally, to the General Counsel;
- The Integrity function is composed of 40 full-time staff and
140 ambassadors in operations worldwide;
- SNC-Lavalin's Integrity program is aligned with the principles
of international organizations such as Transparency International,
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United
Nations Global Compact, World Bank and the U.S. Department of
Justice's Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act.
Operations: an integrity program that fosters and enables
ethical decision-making
- Access, for all employees and third parties, to an independent,
confidential, and anonymous reporting line operated by an external
service provider. This service is available by telephone, access to
the vendor's web page, or an app available on corporate mobile
phones (for SNC-Lavalin employees);
- A due diligence system is in place for all business
partners;
- Annual training on the Company's Code of Conduct is required
for every employee;
- Requirement for managers to take specific training to ensure
understanding of the program and their responsibilities.
Culture: a culture of integrity that promotes communication and
ownership
About SNC-Lavalin
- Establishing the duty to report for all employees and
prohibiting direct or indirect retaliation;
- Embedding an ethical behaviour component in annual employee
performance assessments.
Founded in 1911, SNC-Lavalin is a fully integrated
professional services and project management company with offices
around the world dedicated to engineering a better future for our
planet and its people. We create sustainable solutions that connect
people, data and technology to design, deliver and operate the most
complex projects. We deploy global capabilities locally to our
clients and deliver unique end-to-end services across the whole
life cycle of an asset including consulting, advisory &
environmental services, intelligent networks & cybersecurity,
design & engineering, procurement, project & construction
management, operations & maintenance, decommissioning and
capital. We deliver to clients in key strategic sectors such as
Engineering Services, Nuclear, Operations & Maintenance and
Capital. You can find relevant news and information
at snclavalin.com or follow us
on LinkedIn and Twitter.
SOURCE SNC-Lavalin