SAAQclic: doubts about cost arose in 2021 by Bonnardel advisor

A political advisor to the former Minister of Transportation became suspicious when he learned that the total cost of the Quebec Automobile Insurance Board (SAAQ) IT upgrade would be $682 million.

This is what Alain Généreux told the Gallant Commission investigating the SAAQclic fiasco on Tuesday morning. He was the political advisor responsible for SAAQ issues in Minister François Bonnardel’s office from 2019 to 2022.

In 2020, Généreux was informed that the delivery of the SAAQclic platform had been postponed for a year due to the pandemic. At the time, SAAQ management maintained that the contract with the consortium would still be worth $458 million.

However, “financial implications” were to be expected for the Crown corporation, said Généreux, who did not know at the time how much the SAAQ’s new contribution would be.

In early 2021, the political advisor learned for the first time from a member of the SAAQ’s management team that the total scope of the project would be around $630 million. This includes the contract and the costs of the SAAQ’s internal resources.

In February of the same year, during a meeting between Minister Bonnardel and the then CEO of the SAAQ, Nathalie Tremblay, it emerged that the amount was actually $682 million. It was also revealed that the project’s profit margin would be $10 million.

“Right away, the minister said at the meeting, ‘Nathalie, it’s important that I have a chart. I want to keep track of this,’” Généreux told Commissioner Denis Gallant.

“And earlier, when we were talking about suspicion and doubt, my light went off,” continued the political advisor, who still works with Bonnardel, now Minister of Public Security.

The SAAQclic fiasco is expected to cost at least $1.1 billion, or $500 million more than anticipated, according to the Auditor General.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews