SAAQ’s digital shift with ‘SAAQclic’ still not generating expected benefits: auditor general

The digital shift undertaken at great expense and in chaos by the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) in Feb. 2023 has not generated the expected benefits.

This is one of the findings of Quebec’s Auditor General Guylaine Leclerc, who presented a special report on the situation at the SAAQ to the National Assembly on Thursday.

She explained that the Crown corporation thought it would generate more than $800 million in savings. However, two years after the new computer system was put into service, the problems persist.

For example, the SAAQ thought it would save $53 million by offering faster service at service points. However, the time required to provide the services would have instead “increased significantly.”

In 2024, it had increased by 20 per cent compared to before SAAQclic was put into service, the auditor observed.

“The costs associated with providing services have therefore not decreased and are even higher than before,” she points out in her report.

“The implementation of the new computer system has caused significant problems and has not yet generated the expected benefits,” she adds.

The digital shift at the SAAQ will have cost a total of more than $1.1 billion — or $500 million more than expected.

In her report, Leclerc also notes that Quebecers are using the new services on the SAAQclic platform less than the old online services that were offered.

Furthermore, major communication problems have been noted.

Before the deployment of SAAQclic, the program management stated that everything was going as planned, while “delays were piling up and quality problems were noticeable,” she writes.

During question period on Thursday, former Quebec Transport Minister François Bonnardel repeatedly stated that his government had been “deceived” by the SAAQ.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews