Quebec health network’s project to modernize payroll system in disarray: report

The project to modernize Quebec’s health network’s payroll system is hitting a roadblock, according to a government report — from cost overruns, two-year delivery delays, and contract failures.

Despite a ministerial advisory, Le Journal de Montréal reported that costs have already risen from $202 million to $430 million and could reach a billion.

Known as the SIFARH project, modernizing the payroll system is intended to centralize payroll, the logistics supply chain, and human resources management, like scheduling.

According to Le Journal de Montréal, an audit report shows that the Ministry of Health’s IT initiative is a financial drain.

The Ministry of Health reportedly turned a blind eye to information from last summer surrounding the problems with the project, which risks exceeding $1 billion in expenditures.

Due to the outdated system, the CAQ government still has not granted healthcare network employees the new premiums established by the collective agreements signed last year, more than five months after they came into affect.

Last October, due to work that needed to be done by payroll providers, several regional health authorities also had to delay payment of certain premiums for all unions.

This all comes as Quebec’s auto insurance board is the subject of a public inquiry into the failures of its digital shift — that saw huge cost overruns – nearly 500 million dollars more than was budgeted.