Former SNC-Lavalin CEO stripped of Order of Canada

Governor General Mary Simon has removed former SNC-Lavalin CEO Jacques Lamarre from the Order of Canada.

The decision was made public Friday in the Canada Gazette, an official publication used to promulgate federal laws and regulations.

No reasons were given for Lamarre’s removal from Canada’s national order.

The Office of the Secretary to the Governor General said it does not comment on the specifics of cases where someone’s membership in the Order is terminated.

It said terminations are recommended to the Governor General by the same advisory body that recommends appointments to the order.

“Revocation of an honour is an extraordinary measure intended to protect the credibility of the Canadian honours system,” the Office of the Secretary said in an email. “For the Order of Canada, grounds for revocation are based on evidence that the person has acted in a manner inconsistent with the standard of conduct expected of members of this society. This may include, but is not limited to, a criminal conviction or sanction by a professional order.”

In January, the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec stripped Lamarre of his engineering licence and fined him $75,000 after finding he tolerated or implemented systems that enabled corrupt practices in connection with the company’s business in Libya, including contracts linked to the family of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Lamarre, who led SNC-Lavalin from 1996 to 2009, has denied knowledge of any corrupt acts. 

Lamarre was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2005. His appointment described him as “one of Canada’s most respected business people,” and praised his “visionary leadership” of engineering company.

Under Lamarre’s leadership the Montreal-based engineering firm, which changed its name to AtkinsRéalis in 2023, went through a period of major international growth, but the company has faced criminal prosecution for practices in Libya that, at least in part, took place while Lamarre was CEO.

In 2019, a subsidiary of the company pleaded guilty to fraud charges in connection with nearly $50 million in bribes paid to one of Gadhafi’s sons between 2001 and 2011. That same year, former SNC-Lavalin executive Sami Bebawi, was convicted of fraud and corruption in connection with his role in the scheme, which funnelled millions into his pockets, as well as to the Gadhafi family.

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