Quebec Auditor General to investigate SAAQclic after malfunctions during launch
Posted April 12, 2024 11:37 am.
The Auditor General of Quebec is launching an audit into the rollout of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec’s (SAAQ) digital platform, SAAQclic, which had several setbacks during its launch in winter 2023.
On its website, the office of the Auditor General Guylaine Leclerc posted a form for an audit concerning “SAAQclic and its components.”
The public is invited to describe their experience during the deployment of SAAQclic, which has been described as a “fiasco” by Quebec Minister for Cybersecurity and Digital Affairs Éric Caire.
The audit report is expected to be published in the winter of 2025, but the timetable could always change, the Auditor Generals’ office points out.
Quebec City’s Le Soleil newspaper was the first to report on the audit Friday morning.
Launched in February 2023, SAAQclic was presented as a platform that would allow customers to carry out most transactions online, including renewing their driver’s licence, paying for vehicle registration, and making an appointment for a driving test.
However, its launch was fraught with pitfalls.
SAAQ service centres had to be closed to allow for the transition, resulting in long lineups when they reopened.
Last fall, SAAQ President and CEO Éric Ducharme revealed that the cost of the digital transition bungle exceeded $41 million.
This amount included the hiring of 465 people, which cost $28 million annual annually, as well as $6 million in overtime.
Ducharme took up his post last April, when his predecessor, Denis Marsolais, was dismissed by the cabinet in the wake of the SAAQclic fiasco.
-This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
