SAAQclic: Judge Gallant will limit contact with witnesses he knows

Under fire, the chair of the SAAQclic inquiry commission, Denis Gallant, has pledged to limit his interactions with witnesses he knows.

“If I know a witness personally, I will not be able to meet with them beforehand or consult any documents about them,” he stated in a press release.

“The examination of their testimony will be conducted in public, and I will only learn what they say when they address the commission in public,” he added.

Judge Gallant’s appointment to head this inquiry commission is being hotly contested due to his ties to Treasury Board President Sonia LeBel. Both were prosecutors at the Charbonneau Commission from 2011 to 2014.

Last month, LeBel admitted to having “dinners” with Gallant and other former colleagues on the commission. She also attended his presentation ceremony as a municipal court judge on Feb. 19.

On Tuesday, the Quebec Liberal Party and the Parti Québécois expressed their dissatisfaction with the firewalls announced by Denis Gallant, once again calling on him to recuse himself.

“He is Sonia LeBel’s friend. He couldn’t, in the end, judge Sonia LeBel’s behavior, knowing that he is his friend,” said interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay.

“What guarantees are there that (…) the final judgment would be free from any bias?” he asked. PQ MNA Pascal Paradis echoed the same sentiment.

“Why did the government insist on him, when there are hundreds of jurists in Quebec who could have done an excellent job? Why does he insist on chairing the commission’s debates?” he inquired.

From Germany, for an economic trip, Premier François Legault defended his appointment. “I can’t believe people would question Judge Gallant’s integrity given everything he’s done in his career,” he said.

“Quebecers who don’t play petty politics will recognize that Judge Gallant has integrity and competence, and that’s what we need,” the Premier added.

For its part, Québec solidaire (QS) said it hopes the commission will expand its mandate to shed light on other ongoing projects that risk cost overruns.

“SAAQclic is important, but we must remember that there are $10 billion in investments for the Quebec government’s digital transformation projects. “It’s huge, it’s immense,” pleaded QS parliamentary leader Ruba Ghazal.

“We need to expand the mandate of this commission, otherwise, we’ll never learn anything,” she added.

It’s worth noting that the failed rollout of SAAQclic caused long lineups in front of branches in 2023 and cost $500 million more than expected, for a total that will exceed $1.1 billion in 2025, according to the Auditor General.

The commission of inquiry will have to identify the causes and circumstances of this fiasco. It will also have to establish the level of knowledge of the various stakeholders, both at the SAAQ and in the relevant ministries.

Public hearings will take place in the spring and summer of 2025, but Gallant will make his opening statement in mid-April.

The prosecution team will be led by Simon Tremblay, who will be assisted by Mélanie Tremblay and Alexandre Thériault-Marois. Professor Martine Valois will act as legal counsel.

The investigations will be led by former Quebec City police chief Robert Pigeon.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews