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Strosberg said it appears from a media report over the weekend that the company learned it would not be invited to negotiate a remediation agreement on Sept. 4, 2018, but did not tell shareholders for more than a month, when a news release was issued the morning of Oct. 10, 2018.

“If that information was communicated to the company on Sept. 4, we say that under securities law they would have had an absolute obligation to disclose it right way,” he said, adding that this obligation is triggered when there is a material change to the business and operations of a company.

None of the allegations have been tested in court.

Strosberg said his firm will argue that the immediate disclosure threshold was met, and illustrated by a significant drop in SNC’s share price in the wake of the Oct. 10 news release that disclosed the new information to shareholders.

“The implications of (the Public Prosecution Service of Canada decision revealed by the company in October) are serious because what it means is there’s a prospect of a conviction, and if there’s a conviction, then the company isn’t eligible for federal contracts for 10 years,” Strosberg said.

SNC shares, which were trading at $51.90 on Sept. 4, were little changed at $51.85 on Oct. 9 but fell more than 13 per cent to $44.86 on Oct. 10 on heavier-than-usual volume with more than four million shares changing hands.