Discourse revolves around operational expenses at the onset of the Commission on SAAQclic's meetings
Frayed Costs and Cover-Ups: A Tale of SAAQ's Digital Shift
The cat's out of the bag, folks! Cost overruns connected to the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec's (SAAQ) digital shift have been the center of attention at the Commission d'enquête sur le fiasco SAAQclic (CESIS) hearings. According to the Quebec auditor general, these expenses were hidden by leaving them out of the equation.
"Initially, the budget covered three phases and operational costs. So, for apple-to-apple and orange-to-orange comparisons, we start from there, and we estimate the final bill will be around 1.1 billion dollars for what was initially planned for 638 million dollars," Alain Fortin informed commissioner Denis Gallant, presiding over the CESIS.
Key elements from the auditor general's report have been the foundation of this commission of inquiry. The auditor general examined the digital shift of the SAAQ following the failures experienced during the launch of its SAAQclic platform. "Our mission was to see if the SAAQ had managed the CASA project effectively," Fortin elucidated. At the report's submission in February, he served as the assistant to the former auditor general, Guylaine Tremblay, and has been her interim replacement since her retirement on March 16.
Unless significant adjustments are made, Fortin predicts the digital shift will cost approximately 500 million more than anticipated.
In her report, the auditor general chastised the SAAQ for initially including operational costs in the total bill, only to remove them when it was realized the needs had been underestimated.
Fortin reaffirmed this information to commissioner Gallant, who did not go unnamed. He pointed the finger at the former vice-president of information technology at the SAAQ, Karl Malenfant, stating that the SAAQ's board of directors had inadequate information on costs, deadlines, system capabilities, and tests. Furthermore, elected members of the Commission de l'administration publique were poorly informed about the management of the contract and the actual benefits the digital transformation would provide.
The Autorité des marchés publics (AMP) also pointed out that the initial contract included these fees. According to Caroline Lortie, an expert investigator at the AMP, "In 2020, there was a transaction, known as the 'transformation,' which affected certain deliveries and redistributed the initially planned budgets." Her testimony will continue on Tuesday.
A Contested Interpretation
Quebec Premier François Legault has challenged the figures presented by the Quebec auditor general in her report.
"When you build a new computer program, there's the cost of the program and the cost of maintenance," he stated during an April 9 question period in the National Assembly.
He justified his stance with the claims of the SAAQ's top official, Eric Ducharme. "He was clear about it: one must avoid blending the cost of the program with the subsequent cost of annual maintenance," he clarified.
Such explanations seem to support the version of the SAAQclic high-ranking official. In a Le Devoir interview, Karl Malenfant stated that operational costs of the digital shift should not be included in the project's total budget.
Recently established, the Gallant commission was requested by Prime Minister François Legault to "understand why and how" the digital transition failures at the SAAQ occurred. The hearings, which will take place in Montreal and Quebec until mid-June, will enable witnesses to testify in closed or public sessions.
The first phase of the commission, covering the next two weeks, is set to "establish the background" for the digital shift at the SAAQ and its actors. The first witnesses will appear before Commissioner Gallant starting May 13.
With the collaboration of Marie-Michelle Sioui
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Enrichment Data:The apparent concealment and subsequent removal of operational costs in the SAAQ's digital shift may be indicative of systemic issues in project budgeting and management. According to the Auditor General of Quebec (VGQ), the SAAQclic modernization project's costs are projected to reach at least $1.1 billion by 2027—almost $500 million over the original budget, as stated in [1][3]. While the exact intent behind the concealment is uncertain, critical factors contributing to the overruns include:
- Evolving project scope: The $1.1 billion estimate covers both completed and ongoing phases of the digital transformation[1]. The initial budget likely excluded later-stage costs or underestimated the complexity of transitioning legacy systems.
- Unexpected operational challenges: The 2023 rollout created widespread service disruptions, necessitating unplanned expenditures to address backlogs and system failures[1][2].
- Lack of transparency: In April 2025, the Public Procurement Authority ordered the SAAQ to suspend certain contracts, suggesting governance gaps in financial oversight[2].
- Evolving project demands: Interim Auditor General Alain Fortin cautioned that costs could rise further if all phases proceed, indicating inadequate contingency planning in the original budget[1].
The VGQ's findings suggest a pattern of unrealistic initial projections rather than intentional concealment, compounded by insufficient risk management and oversight mechanisms[1][2][3].
- The auditor general's report, focusing on the SAAQ's digital shift, revealed that operational costs were initially included in the total bill but subsequently removed when needs were underestimated.
- During the CESIS hearings, Alain Fortin, the interim replacement of Guylaine Tremblay, stated that the digital shift might cost approximately 500 million more than initially anticipated.
- Karl Malenfant, the former vice-president of information technology at the SAAQ, controversially asserted in an interview that operational costs of the digital shift should not be included in the project's total budget.
- TheAuditor General of Quebec projected that the SAAQclic modernization project's costs would reach at least $1.1 billion by 2027, which is almost $500 million over the original budget.
