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When it comes to SNC Lavalin and corrupt practices the hits just keep coming.

In 2011 there was the small issue of over billing the federal government for services rendered or in some cases not rendered at all

SNC Lavalin defends federal building contracting practices

SNC Lavalin first came under fire in March when La Presse newspaper published invoices showing taxpayers spent $2,000 on a pair of potted plants and $18,000 to clean two offices, among other expenditures.

 Government of Canada Releases Forensic Audit Results of SNC-Lavalin O&M Contracts

 Forensic Audit of Seventy Transactions Under the SNC-Lavalin O&M Contracts

This year has been a particularly bad one for SNC Lavalin at least on the criminal front.

Two former SNC-Lavalin executives charged in Ontario with corruption 

Two former SNC-Lavalin executives have been charged under the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act in relation to a bridge project in Bangladesh.

 Accused Gadhafi plotter met with SNC-Lavalin exec

 One of the people accused in an alleged plot to smuggle members of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s family to Mexico was with an SNC-Lavalin executive when police took her into custody, CBC News has learned.
According to a spokeswoman for the Canadian engineering firm, Stephane Roy — who oversaw billions of dollars worth of projects in Libya — was present in Mexico City on the invitation of Canadian Cyndy Vanier, one of the accused in the case. Roy met with Gabriela Davila Huerta, another of the accused, on Nov. 11 when she was arrested.

 SNC-Lavalin probe in Switzerland expanded
 The corruption scandal that has shaken Canada’s largest engineering firm, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., has expanded, according to a Swiss media report, which has alleged that prosecutors in that country are now chasing $139-million in suspected illicit payments, more than double the amount of money that was first reported missing by the company.

And for the latest installment we have this.

 Former SNC-Lavalin president arrested for fraud
 A Quebec anti-corruption squad arrested the former president of Canadian engineering firm SNC-Lavalin on Wednesday in a widening money laundering probe.
Pierre Duhaime was sacked in March after 23 years with the company amid accusations he allowed millions of dollars in payments to foreign agents for undocumented work between 2009 and 2011.


I often refer to SNC Lavalin as Canada's Haliburton and for good reason, like Haliburton it has it's hands in virtually every aspect of the public purse from managing government buildings and infrastructure projects to being gifted with  Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.(AECL) for the meager sum of $15 million.

That was then and this is now, with the multiple clouds hanging over SNC worldwide one would think that our governments would take a step back and at least not award new business to them until these matters have been dealt with , but you'd be wrong. In the past few days alone SNC Lavalin has been awarded two major contacts.

On Wednesday the Ontario government awarded a consortium of which SNC is a member a $2.1 billion contract to build an LRT line in Ottawa 

On Friday it was announced that a subsidiary of SNC has been awarded a $1.5 billion contact by the Alberta government related to expanding that provinces electrical grid. Also included in this announcement is  the nugget that SNC expects to land a services contract related to the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project in Newfoundland and Labrador.

It seems in Canada these days being corrupt can be highly profitable.