Montreal Firm Building Libyan Prison

Critics say SNC-Lavalin should cancel its contract to build a detention centre in the fracturing country.

A spokesman for the Canadian engineering giant denied concealing the contract with Moammar Gadhafi’s government, saying it was one of thousands of projects the company has undertaken without issuing a press release about. It’s easy to see why SNC-Lavalin wouldn’t want to brag about building a prison for the North African dictator, considering that it could well be filled with innocent people if Gadhafi somehow overcomes the populist uprising against him that is currently gripping the country. Libya has a long record of incarcerating dissidents, but SNC-Lavalin insisted its planned detention centre would be the country’s first to comply with international human rights standards. Quebec solidaire MNA Amir Khadir called on the company to cancel the contract.