SAAQ VPs rewarded with raises before SAAQclic’s launch

After a devastating report from the auditor general into the SAAQclic launch — the online platform of Quebec’s automobile insurance board, known as the SAAQ — further details are now emerging on what some of the people in charge were being paid.

According to Le Journal de Montréal, just before the launch of SAAQclic, the board of directors of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) granted generous salary increases to its vice-presidents. The main architects of the fiasco saw their total compensation jump by more than $25,000.

Some, like Karl Malenfant, former VP of digital experience, earned a total of $275,356 by the time he retired — a higher salary than that of Quebec Premier François Legault.

The SAAQ digital transformation was meant to simplify and modernize processes like renewing a driver’s license or scheduling a driving test. Instead, its launch in February 2023 was marked by computer glitches and administrative errors, producing long lines outside SAAQ offices.

Meanwhile, the SAAQ’s budget, initially set at $638 million, exploded. According to Quebec’s Auditor General, in addition to delivery delays and failures, the bill will reach at least $1.1 billion.

Following the failed launch, Quebec’s minister in charge of cybersecurity and digital technology, Éric Caire, resigned as minister, saying the debacle had become too much of a distraction for him to fulfil his role.