Ethics of SNC Lavelin Affair

This article discusses the unethical behavior of SNC Lavelin, its wider-reaching ethical implications, and potential local and global impacts. It also provides insights on how businesses can prevent unexpected problems from working within other countries. The article is relevant for students studying business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and international business.

Running head: ETHICS OF SNC LAVELIN AFFAIR
Ethics of SNC Lavelin Affair
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Author Note

1ETHICS OF SNC LAVELIN AFFAIR
1. What unethical behavior did SNC-Lavalin engage in?
SNC Lavalin is one of the largest engineering business organizations which is established
within the region of Canada (Rotberg, 2019). As a result, it has a domineering role to play within
the economic set up of the country and also has a preponderant role to play in the political
situation.
In the recent times, it has been found that the SNC Lavelin compelled the policy makers
of the government of Canada to agree to a remediation agreement, otherwise known as a deferred
prosecution agreement (Quibria, 2017). This resulted in the charges of fraud being instituted
against the company as well as unethical behavior on the part of both the firm and the
government of Canada.
Thus, it can be seen that the unethical behavior that SNC Lavelin is alleged to be
involved in is that of avoidance of federal prosecution charges through the means of their
powerful position that the hold in the economy. They used their financial resources to bend the
rule of law which states that everyone should be treated equally irrespective of their position in
the society.
2. What are the larger (wider-reaching) ethical implications of this situation?
Analyzing the case of SNC Lavelin, it can be seen that one of the most powerful and
influential business firms of the world are engaged in corrupt and unethical practices (Bittle,
Curran & Snider, 2018). This has quite a significant impact on the society of the human race as
people are now becoming highly dubious with regard to the rights of the people which are
granted to them.

2ETHICS OF SNC LAVELIN AFFAIR
The case of SNC Lavelin shows that those entities which have a lot of financial worth in
the society are powerful enough to get away with their own selfish profit motives. The primary
aim of every business organization is considered to the achievement of their profit motives.
However, they have a wider ethical responsibility to the society by ensuring that they engage in
fair and equitable business processes (Linovski, 2019).
3. How did the size/type/strategy of the SNC-Lavalin organization impact this situation?
The Chief Executive Officer of SNC Lavelin as found to be guilty in engaging in such
unethical practices. Pierre Duhaime, the CEO was arrested by the police for providing secret and
unscrupulous financial resources to a shell company whose primary objective was to help the
cause of SNC Lavelin (Leasure, 2017). The operation of any shall companies are highly illegal
within any economic platform. They are the centers of utmost financial corruption.
Another strategy that was engaged in by the executive members of the SNC Lavelin was
that of the forgery of documents that was done by the Vice President of the company. Thus, the
strategies adopted by the company had far reaching implications for the operation of the business
as the people lost trust in the resources held owned and controlled by the concerned firm.
4. Do you think the Whistleblower Legislation applies here?
The SNC Lavelin affair came to the fore front when two of the Members of Parliament of
Canada openly accused the President of Canada, Justin Trudeau of engaging in corrupt an
unethical practices. The two MPs were Jane Philpott and Jody Wilson Raybould who accused the
Canadian President. On receiving such allegations, Trudeau expelled them from his Party.
The Whistle blower legislation is seen to be applicable in this case study. The legislation
lays down that when an employee of any organization reveals information of incrementing

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nature against their own employer, then that employer should not be able to take any
discriminating actions against them (Flanagan, 2017). However, as observed from the actions of
Justin Trudeau it can be seen that he decided to expel his Party members who blamed him of
unethical practices rather than trying to provide evidences for his innocence.
5. What can businesses do to prevent unexpected problems from working within other
countries?
In the period of globalization as experienced in the present contemporary world, the
different business organizations have been able to expand their control and operation of working
in many different nation states of the world. As a result of this, the operation of such businesses
depend a lot on the nature of the polity and economy of such countries.
In order to ensure that such businesses are operating in an efficient manner, the foremost
requirement of such firms is to guarantee that they are working along ethical lines (MacMaster,
2018). Furthermore, they are required to abide by the laws and regulations of the host countries
and ensure that their working activities are transparent in nature.
6. What are the potential local (Canadian) impacts of this event?
The SNC Lavelin affair had deep significant impact on the Canadian society. The people
who were associated with this organization lost their trust in the activities of the firm. SNC
Lavelin is one of the most influential and largest engineering organizations of the country. They
are engaged in the activities of engineering and construction services within Canada. However,
the loss of trust of the people led to a severe loss in their revenue generation (Barutciski &
Bandali, 2015).

4ETHICS OF SNC LAVELIN AFFAIR
Furthermore, the alleged involvement of the President of Canada in the unethical
practices of the SNC Lavelin also made the people doubt the credibility of their present
government. The governments of the world have the responsibility of keeping the trust of the
people and ensuring that they work for the welfare of the people. However, the involvement of
the President in financially corrupt practices made the Canadians question the intentions of their
own government (Ivanyna, Moumouras & Rangazas, 2016).
7. What are the potential global impacts of this event?
The SNC Lavelin is one of the biggest and largest firm to be operating inside the region
of Canada. As a result, the presence of this organization within the country is quite dominant.
Being a financially strong firm, the organization also has a significant global presence which
proved to be disastrous for the image of the firm.
The potential global impact that the event had on the international economic forum was
the loss of trust of the people in the intentions of the private organizations. Although the primary
motive of firms is to earn profits, however, they are committed to the adherence to certain
corporate socially responsible activities. This means that they are required to work for the
welfare of the consumers (Ivanyna, M., Moumouras & Rangazas, 2016). However, the financial
corruption that was evidenced by such influential people made the consumers question the trust
and credibility of the firms. This had a negative impact on the image of the private firms in the
entire world,
8. The actions undertaken by a stakeholder.
Being a stakeholder in the management level, I would have taken stringent actions during
the occurrence of such corruption. I would have taken a vigilant uptake ion the finances of the

5ETHICS OF SNC LAVELIN AFFAIR
organization to ensure that the credit and debit of the firms are equal. Furthermore, in case such
an event occurred, there I would have ensured that all the proper formal actions were taken in
order to punish the guilty.
The potential impact of my actions would be the assurance that the image of the firm is
maintained in the regional and international sphere. This is necessitated in order to ensure the
continued generation of profits of the firm.

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References:
Barutciski, M., & Bandali, S. A. (2015). Corruption at the Intersection of Business and
Government: The OECD Convention, Supply-Side Corruption, and Canada's Anti-
Corrution Efforts to Date. Osgoode Hall LJ, 53, 231.
Bittle, S., Curran, D., & Snider, L. (2018). Crimes of the Powerful: The Canadian
Context. Critical Criminology, 26(4), 451-454.
Flanagan, T. (2017). Corruption and First Nations in Canada. Canadian Foreign Policy
Journal, 23(1), 15-31.
Harrington, J. (2019). Addressing the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials: Developments and
Challenges within the Canadian Legal Landscape. Canadian Yearbook of International
Law/Annuaire canadien de droit international, 1-46.
Ivanyna, M., Moumouras, A., & Rangazas, P. (2016). The culture of corruption, tax evasion, and
economic growth. Economic inquiry, 54(1), 520-542.
Leasure, P. (2017). Combatting the global crime of bribery: a report on Canadian foreign official
anti-bribery policy. Journal of Financial Crime, 24(4), 496-512.
Linovski, O. (2019). Shareholder as client: Firms, markets, and the new business of
planning. Journal of Urban Affairs, 1-19.
MacMaster, K. (2018). Responsible Investing: Access Denied(Doctoral dissertation).
Quibria, M. G. (2017). Foreign Aid and Corruption: Anti-Corruption Strategies Need Greater
Alignment with the Objective of Aid Effectiveness. Geo. J. Int'l Aff., 18, 10.

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Rotberg, R. I. (2019). Corruption in North America: Canada and the United States. In Canada–
US Relations (pp. 261-282). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.