SAAQ ordered to suspend SAAQclic contracts for 30 days
Posted April 10, 2025 1:34 pm.
The Autorité des marchés publics (AMP) has ordered the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) to suspend all contracts associated with the SAAQclic project for 30 days.
Since the Auditor General’s report, which revealed a $500 million cost overrun, the SAAQ has implemented “no mitigation measures” regarding the spending of public funds, the AMP stated in a press release Thursday.
Liberal House Leader Monsef Derraji immediately called for the resignation of Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault, who, he said, has “abdicated her role.”
“What is Guilbault good for? What has she done to reassure the public and stop this hemorrhage?” he asked in an impromptu press conference, a few minutes after the AMP’s order was issued.
“At this point, we acknowledge the AMP’s decision. I would like to remind you that since 2018, we are the government that has increased the AMP’s powers,” briefly commented Treasury Board president Sonia LeBel.
From Sherrington, where he held a press briefing, Premier François Legault defended the work of SAAQ CEO Éric Ducharme, while saying he wanted to get “to the bottom of things.”
Legault providing ‘alternative facts,’ says the PQ
The day before, during Question Period, Legault had questioned the AG’s calculation, which estimated the cost of the SAAQ’s failed digital transformation would exceed $1.1 billion this year.
He argued there was “no proof of that,” adding we should follow Ducharme and calculate “the cost of the program” and “the cost of maintenance” separately.
The PQ MNA for the Magdalen Islands, Joël Arseneau, expressed surprise Thursday that the premier disputed the veracity of the information contained in the AG’s report. He accused the Legault of wanting to “reinvent reality.”
“There’s a dangerous slide toward what we call alternative facts,” he said. “It’s as if we’re back to square one. Was there really a scandal with SAAQclic? Was there a fiasco? What are the figures? Can we validate this?
“So, this is a major step backwards on something that is based on reliable and verified data.
“What we want is to know more, not to deny the facts we already have before us. It’s still absurd.”
The Legault government has established a public inquiry commission to shed light on the SAAQclic case. The commission, headed by Judge Denis Gallant, must submit its report by Sept. 30.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
