SAAQclic fiasco: Karl Malenfant denies colluding with SAP
Posted September 18, 2025 12:57 pm.
SAP never received any undue advantage, Karl Malenfant, former vice president of information technology at the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), claimed on Thursday.
On the second day of his testimony before the Gallant Commission on the SAAQclic fiasco, Malenfant denied helping the German giant win a $438 million contract.
He criticized the commission’s prosecutor, Alexandre Thériault-Marois, for making “false connections” despite the documentary evidence that was presented.
Thériault-Marois presented various emails showing that Karl Malenfant wanted his teams to familiarize themselves with SAP products. The firm organized free training sessions.
The former VP had to admit on Thursday that SAP was not doing “volunteer work,” but had an “interest” in doing so; after all, the SAAQ was preparing to modernize its computer systems.
In an email sent to Malenfant’s personal address, consultant Louise Savoie points out that SAP is nevertheless “skeptical” about the SAAQ’s ability to “change the procurement process.”
The company seems to want the state-owned corporation to move away from the usual “lowest bidder” process and place greater emphasis on quality criteria.
Malenfant then replied to Savoie that SAP must “trust in the future.” He added a wink to his message.
“This file will be strategically attached to the president’s office and to my counterpart on the Treasury Board responsible for strategic acquisitions and the Procurement Act,” he wrote.
In the end, two consortiums will compete for the SAAQ contract, and SAP will be part of both, noted Thériault-Marois.
Malenfant’s testimony will continue on Thursday afternoon.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
