SAAQclic: Public hearings resume Monday in Montreal

The Gallant Commission, tasked with shedding light on the failures of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec’s (SAAQ) digital transformation, resumes its public hearings Monday morning in Montreal.

The commission of inquiry into the management of the SAAQ’s IT modernization, including the SAAQclic platform, is scheduled to hear new witnesses after a two-month summer break from its public work.

The next three weeks will have a distinctly political flavour, as former and current ministers, as well as cabinet staff, have been summoned to testify.

The current Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Geneviève Guilbault, and her predecessor, François Bonnardel, are among the witnesses.

So far, more than 300 exhibits have been filed and 45 witnesses have been heard during the public hearings of the commission chaired by Judge Denis Gallant.

In addition to elected officials and former elected officials, several other key players remain to be questioned, including former CEOs Nathalie Tremblay and Éric Ducharme, who was dismissed by the Legault government at the beginning of the summer.

Former Vice-President of Information Technology Karl Malenfant, one of those responsible for the deployment of the SAAQclic platform, has also not yet testified publicly, although he met behind closed doors with the commission two weeks ago.

It should be noted that the SAAQ’s failed digital transformation is expected to cost taxpayers at least $1.1 billion, $500 million more than expected, according to calculations by the Auditor General of Quebec.

The commission is scheduled to sit in Montreal for the next three weeks before returning to Quebec City. The commissioner must submit his report by December 15.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews