SAAQclic Scandal: Public Inquiry Exposes Lies, Mismanagement and $500M Overrun
A damning public inquiry into the SAAQclic scandal has revealed systemic mismanagement, deliberate deception, and a staggering $500 million cost overrun at Quebec's automobile insurance board. The report, released on Monday, February 16, 2026, details how the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) repeatedly lied to government officials while its ambitious IT project spiraled out of control.
Premier's Office Knew Long Before Public Disclosure
Commissioner Denis Gallant's 881-page report found that "information regarding the program's financial situation" reached the offices of then-transport minister Geneviève Guilbault and Premier François Legault in August 2023. This was approximately 18 months before Quebec's auditor general publicly disclosed that the project would cost about $1.1 billion—$500 million over its original budget.
Following the report's publication, Premier Legault told reporters his government was never informed the final tally would reach $1.1 billion, claiming the highest cost his office received was $682 million. Legault stated Quebec is considering legal action against SAAQ officials who provided false information to the government.
Ambitious Project Plagued by Flawed Planning
The Carrefour des services d'affaires (CASA) was SAAQ's internal systems modernization project, while SAAQclic is the public-facing digital portal for accessing SAAQ services online. Gallant found CASA was "too large, too ambitious and had to be implemented too quickly."
The project suffered from multiple critical flaws:
- Overly centralized governance that bypassed essential controls and safeguards
- Reliance on untested innovations that amplified risk
- Flawed contracts and procurement processes that eliminated competition
- An initial contract worth $458 million over 10 years with limited exit options
When SAAQclic launched in February 2023, the system repeatedly crashed, causing extensive delays and widespread frustration at SAAQ offices across Quebec.
Deliberate Deception and Compartmentalized Knowledge
The inquiry found SAAQ officials "lied to parliamentarians, ministers and their offices about the program's status" for years. The Crown corporation submitted "several misleading accountability reports" to state authorities specifically designed to conceal rising program costs between 2019 and 2023.
Gallant concluded "the false information conveyed by the SAAQ was not the result of inadvertent errors, but a deliberate action aimed at hiding from parliamentarians and the government—and therefore the public—the total cost of the CASA program and the cost overruns it was experiencing." Quebec's anti-corruption squad, the Unité permanente anticorruption, is now investigating.
The report revealed knowledge was "compartmentalized among different actors" within government, with bureaucrats receiving "more complete information" than political authorities, who were "largely kept in the dark regarding the difficulties" for years.
Recommendations for Future IT Projects
Gallant's report includes 26 recommendations aimed at preventing similar IT fiascos. Key proposals include:
- Developing centralized government expertise in digital transformation
- Tightening governance rules for Crown corporations
- Clarifying accountability of boards of directors
- Formalizing ministerial responsibility for Crown corporations in legislation
The commissioner emphasized that formalizing ministerial responsibility would make it easier for opposition parties to hold the government accountable and limit the government's ability to "hide behind" Crown corporation autonomy.
Inquiry by the Numbers
The comprehensive investigation involved:
- $7 million: Inquiry budget
- 124: Witnesses heard
- 75: Days of testimony
- 3,000: Documents submitted as evidence
The SAAQclic scandal represents one of Quebec's most significant IT project failures, highlighting systemic issues in government oversight, corporate governance, and digital transformation management that the Gallant commission hopes to address through its recommendations.
