Death of SNC-Lavalin workers points to risks Canadian companies face overseas

Canada's biggest engineering firm has operated for decades without incident in some of the world's riskiest countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and South America.

"This is the first time we have ever in 40 years working around the world been the victims of a terrorist attack, so this is new territory for us," company spokeswoman Gillian MacCormack said in an interview.

The Montreal-based company will review the risk assessment plans in place at each of its projects to ensure the ongoing safety of its thousands of employees around the world, including 2,000 in Algeria.

SNC Lavalin works in many global hot spots, but has stayed away from Colombia, Sudan and Iraq. Myanmar is avoided at the request of the Canadian government.

MacCormack declined to say if SNC will scale back its Algerian projects in the aftermath of the tragic incident.

"If you ask me are we going to move out of Algeria, well no, because we are an Algerian company," she said. "We have been there for over 30 years and we're firmly implanted."

SNC-Lavalin is not the only well-known Canadian company operating in Algeria, a country where extremists have resorted to bombings and violence.

First Calgary Petroleums (TSX:FCP) has been advancing a major natural gas development project in Algeria for years in partnership with the Algerian government.

Canadian companies face the growing risk of being targeted as terrorists seek softer targets as alternatives to more fortified operations of American and British interests, said Louis Laframboise, senior managing director for consulting and investigation at Garda World Security Corp. (TSX:GW).

"Canada may be obliged to follow, whether we like it or not, because if we don't get our act together and get security up in those places we become targets."

The troubled history of the North African country over the last two to three years suggests, Laframboise said, that the attack likely wasn't in response to Canadian government policies, particularly the military mission in Afghanistan.

But Canadians can no longer be lulled into believing that their history as peacekeepers will protect them from incidents - either terrorist or general criminality, he added.

"It's just a feeling of Canadians, the way we are and the way we have operated for years, we don't feel that we've been targeted."

But incidents happen so quickly that companies have to be prepared. Businesses frequently turn to companies like Garda to provide intelligence on the ground as part of plans to beef up security.

They also survey work sites, the hotels used by employees, travelling routes and provide escorts in more serious cases.

But Garda itself knows all too well that even the best laid plans can't always prevent incidents.

The armoured car, cash handling and armed security services provider with 50,000 employees had four of its British workers kidnapped in Iraq several years ago.

"It's an extremely unfortunate incident but it was unforeseen and unpreventable unless you say we just won't do the job. If you do the job you're exposed and at certain times like this time there was no way of getting the proper intel. They just hit and hit big and that was it."

Most Canadian companies operating abroad have had no difficulties and have worked with local partners to advance their business.

But some have faced major hurdles including Toronto-based Crystallex Inc. (TSX:KRY), which has been dogged for years by uncertainty over its Las Cristinas project and whether the Venezuelan government would nationalize the mining sector or allow the project to go ahead.

Gabriel Resources, a Toronto miner, which has struggled as it tries to develop a troubled gold project in Romania, where it faces environmental opposition. The company is also in a tax dispute with Romanian authorities.

Calgary-based fertilizer producer Agrium Inc. (TSX:AGU) has sold most of the US$1.4 billion nitrogen plant it was jointly building in Egypt after environmental opposition to the project.