Owners of pyrrhotite-damaged Quebec homes demand SNC-Lavalin settlement money
MONTREAL — Owners of pyrrhotite-damaged homes across Quebec’s Mauricie region are eyeing the $280-million penalty engineering firm SNC-Lavalin was recently ordered to pay for its fraudulent business dealings in Libya.
Hundreds of homes around Trois-Rivieres, between Montreal and Quebec City, were damaged after they were built with low-quality concrete that contained the mineral, which expands when it comes into contact with water and air.
In 2014, the Quebec Superior Court ruled that SNC-Lavalin was 70 per cent responsible for the damage because one of the company’s geologists produced a report stating the concrete was fit for use. SNC-Lavalin is appealing that ruling.
Alain Gelinas, president of a group of owners whose homes have been damaged by pyrrhotite, said Monday the settlement money SNC-Lavalin was ordered to pay this month for committing fraud in Africa should go to his members.