SNC-Lavalin (TSX:SNC) has taken a step toward putting a troubled past behind it by refunding seven cities and towns — including Montreal — for nearly 20 years of over billing.

The engineering firm announced Monday it had entered into the agreement with the municipalities to reimburse an undisclosed sum as part of a voluntary refund program SNC-Lavalin CEO Neil Bruce described in a communique as being “final and equitable.”

Apart from Montreal, SNC-Lavalin also reimbursed Laval, Québec City, Lévis, Longueuil, Deux-Montagnes as well as  Saint-Cyprien, in the lower Saint Lawrence region, for a period covering 1996 to 2015.

The goal of the program is to allow businesses to refund all sums obtained over a 20-year period from Quebec cities, school boards or provincial agencies through bribes, fraud, collusion or rigged contracts. No similar program exists for federal contracts.

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