Judge Denis Gallant will present his final report on the troubled launch of the SAAQclic website at a news conference on Monday morning. Government officials received an advance copy of the report on Friday.
Exactly one year ago, Auditor General Guylaine Leclerc issued a critical assessment of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) online platform’s rollout, labeling it a complete failure. The 2023 launch forced many Quebec residents into lengthy lineups in freezing weather to renew driver’s licenses or access accounts due to technical glitches.
Project Overruns and Hidden Information
Leclerc’s findings revealed the digital initiative exceeded its budget by at least $500 million, pushing total costs beyond $1.1 billion. The platform launched without adequate testing, and key details were withheld from elected officials. At the time, it remained unclear if the government knew about the escalating expenses.
The inquiry, dubbed the Gallant commission, addressed these concerns. Over 75 days, more than 130 witnesses testified, and over 200,000 documents underwent review. The submission deadline, originally set for September, faced two extensions due to the extensive evidence.
Opposition Demands Accountability
Opposition parties anticipate the report’s insights as Quebec prepares for further digital upgrades, particularly in health care. “I want to understand who’s responsible, at the political side but also at the management level,” stated Quebec Liberal transport critic Monsef Derraji. “We should take some notes for the future. We have so many IT projects, now in the health-care system, in justice, everywhere.”
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon emphasized learning from the errors. “In a context where we failed to fund correctly many fundamental missions of the Quebec state, there’s so much money involved and we need to understand how did we get there,” he said.
Former Leader Counters Allegations
Ahead of the report, Karl Malenfant, former SAAQ vice-president of digital experience and key figure in the platform’s development, held a news conference. He displayed boxes of documents, claiming victimization by a smear campaign from an IT firm and a lobbying group, positioning himself as a scapegoat.
Malenfant declined to share direct evidence of the alleged plot but distributed a 112-page response to the accusations. He argued the site’s issues fell outside his responsibility, noting he advocated delaying the launch upon warnings of delays. He also highlighted that SAAQclic’s overruns were relatively low compared to prior digital projects.
Government Figures Face Scrutiny
Former transport ministers Geneviève Guilbault and François Bonnardel, along with Premier François Legault, faced intense questioning during the inquiry over prior knowledge of budget issues before launch. All denied awareness or recollection of overruns and rejected claims of concealing information from the public.
However, testimony and documents indicated some Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) ministers learned of budget excesses as early as 2021, though not the full scope. The commission reportedly issued notices of misconduct to certain members of Guilbault’s cabinet who appeared.
Lasting Political Impact
Political science professor Donal Gill at Concordia University notes the CAQ government has already endured major fallout from the scandal. Cybersecurity Minister Éric Caire resigned soon after Leclerc’s report, Premier Legault plans to step down, and Guilbault will not seek re-election.
“The most significant damage that could be done from the report has already been done,” Gill observed. “This [report] is not going to land with a massive bang the way it would have had the premier decided to stay on.”
Gill predicts leadership contenders Bernard Drainville and Christine Fréchette will seek to separate themselves from the findings, potentially assigning blame to others to shift focus.
