Quebec Premier Francois Legault is lobbying for an out-of-court settlement of SNC Lavalin's legal woes.
Legault says it is only right that the engineering firm be held accountable for any wrongdoing, but he worries for the thousands of well-paying jobs at its Montreal headquarters, and the possibility that a lengthy court battle might leave it vulnerable to a foreign take-over.
Federal prosecutors have not shown any inclination to to settle out-of-court for fines alone, and the Trudeau government is already mired in concerns that it pressured the then Justice Minister to push for that option.
Still, Legault says, he wants a deal as soon as possible because it is in the best interests of Quebecers..
He adds that the company has told him it is prepared to splash out a lot of cash for fines stemming from accusations that it resorted to bribery in contracting in Libya. .