SAAQclic: Gallant Commission suspends hearings until Monday

The commission of inquiry into the SAAQ’s IT project fiasco has suspended public hearings until next Monday to process a large influx of new information following the lifting of professional secrecy by the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ).

Simon Tremblay, the inquiry’s chief prosecutor, told reporters Tuesday afternoon that the decision came after the commission received “a new mass of information.”

Teams at the Gallant Commission have begun reviewing the complete email inboxes of key witnesses.

The SAAQ waived its lawyer-client privilege at the end of August in connection with the CASA IT project investigation.

Trial work is now required to distinguish newly received material from documents the commission already holds, Tremblay said.

“We are left with an immeasurable amount of duplicate information. It is therefore necessary for us to carefully target our next actions in order to be efficient in our work and respect the integrity of our investigations,” he added.

Tremblay also praised the SAAQ’s “good cooperation” in identifying the new elements.

The hearings are scheduled to resume next Monday. Tremblay said the pause will allow the commission to “maximize our resources to clarify and obtain relevant and new information in the search for the truth.”

Commissioner Denis Gallant agreed to the suspension but said he is becoming “very concerned about the delays.”

The inquiry into the SAAQ’s technological modernization had already received an extension from the Legault government. The commissioner was originally expected to submit his report by Sept. 30, a deadline now pushed back to Dec. 15.

Key witnesses expected to testify in the coming days include former CEO Nathalie Tremblay and former vice-president of technology Karl Malenfant.

Earlier Tuesday, a former vice-president of finance, Francine Lépinay, for the SAAQ completed her testimony.

While it was facing a shortfall of $222 million to complete the SAAQclic platform, the Crown corporation decided to opt in 2022 for a first amendment, an addition to the contract with the consortium formed by LGS and SAP.

The sum of $45.7 million was decided between the CEO at the time, Denis Marsolais, Malenfant and Lépinay. The amount is equivalent to 9.97 per cent of the initial contract, or 0.03 per cent below the threshold requiring publication in the government’s electronic tendering system (SEAO).

Lépinay said she had discomfort during discussions with her colleagues.

“The amount that was raised to my level for authorization was higher than $45 million, but it was less than 10 per cent. I was uncomfortable because it took a few decimal places after the point to see that we were below 10 per cent. And it was a personal discomfort that I had. I mentioned it,” she said.

Management chose this path, despite an internal recommendation to sign a single $222 million surcharge rather than break up the amount.

According to an analysis prepared by the SAAQ’s contract management, IT and legal affairs, the split involved inconveniences and financial and legal risks.

While adding a single $222 million amendment to the contract mainly had advantages.

“I don’t think there was a yay! in our speeches that day,” recalled Marc-André Toupin, director of contract management for the SAAQ, on Tuesday, when he and his supervisor learned that management was ignoring the recommendation.

“My reaction was the same as any other case. It’s an amendment like any other in the end,” he added before the committee.

He has already seen other amendments close to the 10 per cent threshold. The important thing is to have the justification behind it. Except that, in the case of the $45.7 million, the documentation never came, despite his requests, said Toupin.

. Lépinay does not recall the justification for the amount, but for her, the 10 per cent threshold was not a factor.

To date, three amendments have been signed as part of the CASA/SAAQclic IT project totalling $153.7 million, not including contracts concluded in separate calls for tenders.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews