dropped after David Lametti became the new Attorney General, with SNC-Lavalin paying a $280 million dollar fraud charge, which would not have led to the prohibition on bidding. Other Notable Prosecutions In 2018, the PPSC was referred an Ontario public prosecution dealing with a Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas candidate selection election by the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. A potential candidate not chosen sued the party and then leader Patrick Brown, and to avoid conflict of interest, the Attorney General of Ontario referred the case to the PPSC. Approximately a week later, the failed candidate withdrew his private suit, but the PPSC continued investigations. The prosecution service recused itself from high-profile investigation of Mark Norman, given potential for conflict of interest, with the Alberta provincial prosecutor giving legal advice in the PPSC's stead. The PPSC declined to prosecute in the case of alleged misconduct by the Ontario Liberal Party when a senior party official offered perquisites in return for a Sudbury Member of Provincial Parliament to step down to make way for federal New Democratic Member of Parliament Glenn Thibeault to run in that provincial electoral district. Criticism In 2019, the PPSC saw criticism over activities in its Ontario office, where some prosecutors complained about being shamed or otherwise discouraged from getting pregnant and having children, as well as an alleged "white frat bro" culture. The PPSC responded with a commitment to improve the situation and culture. Also in 2019, the PPSC conducted an internal investigation not released to the public about a botched prosecution related to a criminal defence lawyer not revealing evidence against police officers, resulting in perjury. The prosecution was eventually dropped, but the Criminal Lawyers Association had given official complaints to the Law Society of Ontario regarding the practices of three prosecutors that were allegedly complicit in misleading the court. The PPSC received criticism in 2021 for failure to prosecute in a timely manner in the case of alleged military and corporate espionage of Qing Quentin Huang, a Canadian national accused of passing military secrets to the Chinese government from Irving Shipbuilding. After eight years of charges, a judge stayed the case under the principle of a right to a speedy trial. Blame was also allotted by the defense lawyers towards parliament, as a major factor in the delay of prosecution was national security disclosure, a matter that parliament had not resolved. In the light of the legal