July 29, 2019 Organization

Montréal - The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) welcomes with much satisfaction the findings of the review conducted by Mario Bilodeau, the independent expert who examined how the AMF handled the SNC-Lavalin investigation called Projet Faucon, initiated in 2011-2012.

In the summary (pdf - 128 KB)This link will open in a new windowUpdated on July 29, 2019 (in French only) of the report, which was released today, M. Bilodeau is categorical: Despite the serious allegations published in April in certain media, the investigation was never abandoned, was not superficial, and was conducted properly.

M. Bilodeau adds that the AMF pursued every possible angle and was not influenced by outside parties to handle the SNC-Lavalin file in a certain way or close it, nor did anyone internally exert pressure on investigators to prevent them from doing their job or subtly interfere with the investigation.

“The AMF cooperated fully in order to get to the bottom of this matter and is happy with the unequivocal findings of the independent expert, who even remarks on the professionalism and quality of work of our teams,” said Louis Morisset, AMF President and CEO. “Integrity is a core value in our organization and the review findings show that the AMF’s reputation and credibility were unfairly tarnished by these serious and unfounded allegations.”

The findings also show that, contrary to what has been portrayed to the public, the AMF’s senior director of investigations at the time of Projet Faucon, Frédéric Pérodeau, did not put himself in a real or apparent conflict of interest and the measures taken in his regard were adequate and adhered to.

M. Bilodeau also notes that the allegations are not borne out by any of the interviews with people actually involved in Projet Faucon or by the documents examined.

All told, 32 people who were directly or indirectly involved in the file were interviewed, and more than 42,000 e-mails and the personal notes of investigators, lawyers and manager were reviewed.

In conclusion, the independent expert states that the AMF can be proud of the way all its professionals performed their tasks and fulfilled their duties in Projet Faucon.

The Autorité des marchés financiers is the regulatory and oversight body for Québec’s financial sector.

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