By Canadian Press

SNC’s court bid to avoid prosecution to proceed through election period

Aug 15, 2019 | 1:21 PM

OTTAWA — SNC-Lavalin’s court fight for a special agreement to avoid prosecution on corruption charges continues to lurch along, despite the prospect of a criminal trial and Wednesday’s explosive report from the federal ethics watchdog on the conduct of the prime minister.

The Federal Court of Appeal has set a series of filing deadlines that run through the fall — as the campaign for the Oct. 21 federal election unfolds — for the latest submissions in the engineering and construction giant’s ongoing legal battle for a remediation agreement over alleged wrongdoing in Libya.

SNC-Lavalin unsuccessfully pressed the federal director of prosecutions to negotiate an agreement — an alternative means of holding an organization accountable for wrongdoing without a formal finding of guilt.

In a March ruling, a judge tossed out the firm’s plea for judicial review of the director’s 2018 decision.

In its ruling, the Federal Court said prosecutorial discretion is not subject to judicial review, except for cases where there is an abuse of process.

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SNC-Lavalin contends in the Court of Appeal that the process of determining whether to pursue a remediation agreement was completely flawed.

The Canadian Press