UPAC conducts search at SAAQ

The province’s anti-corruption unit, UPAC, is conducting a search on Wednesday at the head office of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) in Quebec City, in connection with the SAAQclic scandal.

“We confirm today that we are conducting a search in the SAAQclic file. We will not give any details of the search, in order to protect our investigation. (…) Generally speaking, the purpose of a search in a fraud or corruption investigation is to obtain evidence that will enable us to confirm or deny the commission of a reprehensible act,” reads a UPAC statement sent to The Canadian Press.

“The documents seized must then be analyzed, and may subsequently require meetings with witnesses,” it adds.

Premier François Legault said on Wednesday that what is happening at the SAAQ and what is being heard at the Gallant Commission is “worrying.”

“I’m not happy that UPAC, in a way, is acting,” Legault said at a press scrum in Quebec City Wednesday.

The premier still refuses to reaffirm his confidence in current SAAQ CEO Éric Ducharme.

“I think we have to wait for the final report (…) The president hasn’t testified yet, so let’s let him explain. What’s important is to get to the bottom of things,” he said.

In a brief statement, the SAAQ said it was “cooperating fully with the ongoing investigation and will not comment further in order to respect the work of the authorities and preserve the integrity of the process”.

The search comes as the company’s former CEO, Denis Marsolais, testifies before the Gallant Commission.

UPAC has been investigating SAAQclic since February 2025.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews