Corporate ethics

Foreign bribery scandals force change upon corporate Canada

Topics: 
Foreign corrupt practices legislation, Corporate ethics
Rating: 
3

Douglas Quan – April 12, 2013

For years, it wasn’t uncommon for Canada’s corporate bosses to turn a blind eye when it came to dishing out lavish gifts to foreign officials — a Land Rover, money to cover children’s tuition, access to booze and women. They chalked it up to the cost of doing business overseas.

But those attitudes are changing, experts say, in the wake of reputation-scarring foreign bribery scandals involving Canadian companies.

Charbonneau commission: whistleblowers the key

Topics: 
Quebec, Corruption, Political misconduct, Whistleblowers, Corporate ethics
Rating: 
5
Michel Lalonde

Catherine Solyom – March 6, 2013

Note to Michel Lalonde: this is NOT what democracy looks like. Citing the “continuity of provincial democracy,” the president of Genius Conseil (formerly Groupe Séguin) told the Charbonneau Commission this week that his associates and family members all made contributions to the three provincial political parties — and the firm paid the associates back with generous Christmas bonuses.

Known as a prête-nom, or frontman scheme, the ruse allowed the firm, eager to keep its place at the provincial trough of public contracts, to contribute, from 1999 to 2009, $117,000 to the Parti Québécois, $94,000 to the Liberal Party of Quebec and $29,000 to the Action démocratique du Québec, which has since folded into the Coalition Avenir Québec.

SNC-Lavalin hires outside exec to oversee business ethics

Topics: 
Corporate ethics, Construction industry
Rating: 
0

February 22, 2013

Troubled engineering giant SNC-Lavalin has hired a former Siemens executive to guide the company on ethics and matters of corporate governance. Andreas Pohlmann will begin his duties as chief compliance officer on March 1, SNC-Lavalin said Friday.

Former SNC CEO Pierre Duhaime and another former top executive, Riadh Ben Aissa, are facing fraud charges stemming from a contract involving the building of the multibillion-dollar McGill University Health Centre in Montreal.

Morgan Stanley Peddled Security Its Own Employee Called ‘Nuclear Holocaust’

Topics: 
Financial crisis, Financial industry, Corporate ethics, Corruption
Rating: 
2

Jesse Eisinger – January 23, 2013

On March 16, 2007, Morgan Stanley employees working on one of the toxic assets that helped blow up the world economy discussed what to name it. Among the team members' suggestions: "Subprime Meltdown," "Hitman," "Nuclear Holocaust," "Mike Tyson's Punchout," and the simple-yet-direct: "Shitbag."

Ha ha. Those hilarious investment bankers. Then they gave it its real name and sold it to a Chinese bank.

SNC-Lavalin hires former Watergate investigator to advise on anti-corruption

Topics: 
Corporate ethics, Anti-corruption efforts, Construction industry
Rating: 
4

Nicolas Van Praet – January 24, 2013

Canadian engineering giant SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. has hired Watergate investigator Michael Hershman to advise the company on anti-corruption issues as it takes steps to strengthen its business practices amid ongoing police investigations.

Mr. Hershman has been retained as an independent compliance advisor to SNC president and chief executive officer Robert Card, the company confirmed Thursday. He will be part of a group of experts and advisors offering counsel to the CEO on specific procedures related to compliance, governance and anti-corruption.

ORNGE sets up policy to protect whistleblowers in wake of scandal

Topics: 
Charities & non-profits, Anti-corruption efforts, Corporate ethics, Health care
Rating: 
3

Kevin Donovan – December 27, 2012

ORNGE employees who want to blow the whistle on poor company practices can do so without fear of discipline or being fired, the air ambulance firm announced Thursday. In setting up its new “whistleblower policy,” ORNGE hopes to avoid the problems that the former management’s secrecy allowed to fester.

“We are truly committed to continuous improvement at ORNGE, and that means everyone should feel free to come forward with concerns, without fear of reprisal,” said Ron McKerlie, interim president and CEO of ORNGE. “Our new whistleblower policy will promote integrity throughout the organization.”

The Bribery Aisle: How Wal-Mart Got Its Way in Mexico

Topics: 
USA, Mexico, Corruption, Corporate ethics
Rating: 
2
The following are selected extracts

David Barstow and Alejandra Xanic von Bertrab – December 17, 2012

Wal-Mart longed to build in Elda Pineda’s alfalfa field. It was an ideal location, just off this town’s bustling main entrance and barely a mile from its ancient pyramids, which draw tourists from around the world. With its usual precision, Wal-Mart calculated it would attract 250 customers an hour if only it could put a store in Mrs. Pineda’s field.

One major obstacle stood in Wal-Mart’s way. After years of study, the town’s elected leaders had just approved a new zoning map. The leaders wanted to limit growth near the pyramids, and they considered the town’s main entrance too congested already. As a result, the 2003 zoning map prohibited commercial development on Mrs. Pineda’s field, seemingly dooming Wal-Mart’s hopes.

Lavalin: Canada seeks additional proof against former senior leader

Topics: 
India, Unpublished or under-reported, Corporate ethics
Rating: 
0

Tiruvananthapuram – December 18, 2012

The Canadian Government has said that it needs additional evidence on the role of Klaus Triendl, against whom the CBI court has issued a warrant in the SNC-Lavalin case, for his extradition.

‘’We have completed the review of the material submitted in support of the extradition request and have concluded that the request is insufficient to satisfy the requirements of Canada’s extradition legislation. In order to satisfy Canada’s legal requirements, we require additional evidence in relation to the identification of Triendl as well as his role in the alleged offence,’’ the International Assistance Group, Ministry of Justice, Government of Canada, said in a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs.

Why does Canada trail U.S. and EU in protecting citizens from dangerous meds?

Topics: 
Public health & safety, Health care, Health Canada, Pharmaceutical industry, Regulatory oversight, Conflict of interest, Corporate ethics
Rating: 
4
The following are selected extracts

Heartburn pills that cause heart attacks, antidepressants that lead to suicide

Anne Kingston – November 20, 2012

On Oct. 17, 2012, Terence Young’s tireless 12-year crusade took him before a Senate committee looking into the safety and regulation of prescription drugs in Canada. The Conservative MP for Oakville, Ont., gave the panel an earful.

“Doctors and patients have no way to know when a drug is safe and when it is not,” he argued, noting that his own government’s drug monitoring system is “primarily in the hands of the big pharma companies themselves, even as a growing number of injuries and deaths are reported related to their use.”

Key Blair aide: Rupert Murdoch pressed UK leader on Iraq war

Topics: 
Corporate ethics, Government ethics, UK, Message control or 'spin', Media
Rating: 
2

Associated Press – June 15, 2012

Tony Blair’s ex-communications director claimed Friday that media tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s warned the British leader over the dangers of delaying the 2003 U.S.-led invasion as he made efforts to press the U.K. to support the conflict.

In the latest volume of his diaries, excerpts of which were published by The Guardian newspaper, Alastair Campbell said Blair found Murdoch’s protests clumsy and that they both suspected he had been urged to intervene by the White House.

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