Canada drops to 12th place in world corruption ranking following SNC-Lavalin scandal

Nationalpost.com
June 19, 2020

Its image hurt by the SNC-Lavalin Group scandal, Canada faces an “ongoing challenge” of public cynicism for its federal institutions, Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion said this week.

As first detailed by Blacklock’s Reporter, Dion noted Canada dropped in ranking in a Corruption Perceptions Index by the group Transparency International in the wake of the 2019 controversy.

Canada drops to 12th place in world corruption ranking following SNC-Lavalin scandal

Canada dropped from ninth place to 12th on “perceived levels of public sector corruption,” behind Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and Iceland. The United States ranked 23rd. China was 80th.

Dion, in a report last Aug. 14, cited Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and aides for arranging at least 49 meetings and phone calls to quash a criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.

“The actions that sought to further these interests were improper,” said the Trudeau II Report.

“Gaining and retaining public trust remains an ongoing challenge for institutions in Canada,” Dion wrote in an annual report on the Conflict Of Interest Act. “This is evidenced by data published by credible international organizations that provide a broad indication of levels of public trust.

“When transparency allows light to be shined on instances of conflict of interest, no matter how minor they might be, the public trust tends to erode. At the same time, the more issues of public integrity become salient, the better the public understands that safeguarding democratic institutions is a perpetual endeavour.”

Dion described attempts to interfere in the SNC case as “flagrant.” In December, the engineering company pleaded guilty to fraud in Québec Provincial Court and was fined $280 million.