A Windsor law firm has filed a civil action against Quebec engineering giant SNC-Lavalin as early as Tuesday.
Strosberg, Sasso, Sutts has been retained by a shareholder who wants to know if the company disclosed information in a timely manner related to criminal cases it's facing.
The proposed class action has been filed in Ontario Superior Court.
Associate Justin Smith says a publicly traded firm has an obligation to disclose the information.
"They're required to disclose material information to their shareholders and the type of that information determines at what point or at what time that information needs to be disclosed," he says.
Smith says the regulations a publicly traded company has to follow are very clear.
"We're looking to see whether this is a material change in the business or operations of SNC that would have required SNC to disclose immediately either through a press release or some other release and to file the corresponding forms with the securities regulators," says Smith.
He admits it can be difficult to prove what a company knew and when, but they can use Freedom of Information requests but once legal action is filed, Smith says they'll have additional ability to call for documents.
The legal action is separate from any action taking place on Parliament Hill.
Canadians could very soon hear from former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould about what she knows about the SNC-Lavalin affair.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday he would partially waive solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality rules with Wilson-Raybould so she can finally tell some of her side of the saga.
And an order-in-council published Monday night shows he has done just that.
It is alleged Wilson-Raybould was pressured by the Prime Minister's Office to get a remedial deal for the engineering firm instead of facing bribery charges.