Quebec is opening new investigations into what went wrong during the creation and deployment of the auto insurance board’s online platform SAAQclic, following a scathing report on the shortfalls of the site.
Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault asked her own department to launch an independent investigation Monday, in a letter obtained by Radio-Canada.
In another letter addressed to Quebec’s anti-corruption unit, known as UPAC, Guilbault says she heard through media reports that the agency is already analyzing the report and that she hopes it will take appropriate action according to its findings.
Treasury Board President Sonia LeBel posted on social media that she has also asked the head of the AMP, the agency that oversees public contracts, to look into the process of granting and executing contracts.
Last week, Quebec’s auditor general issued a report into the creation of SAAQclic, including $500 million in projected cost overruns, and problems with transparency about the issues facing the new system.
Guilbault called the findings “outrageous” in her letters, adding “that they must be the subject of attention commensurate with their seriousness.”
Opposition parties have expressed skepticism at Guilbault’s moves, with a spokesperson for the Parti Québécois saying there should be an independent commission of inquiry leading the charge.
The leader of the Quebec Liberals, Monsef Derraji, said on X that the “government has completely lost control of the SAAQ file.”
SAAQclic is supposed to be a one-stop shop for most auto insurance board services, but stumbled out of the gate in 2023, leading to driver frustration and long line-ups at SAAQ branches.
