Quebec transport minister launches internal investigation into SAAQclic

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 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 Autorité des marchés publics (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."

The house leader of the Quebec Liberals, Monsef Derraji, said on X that the "government has completely lost control of the SAAQ file."

Opposition parties say they want public inquiry

During a news conference Tuesday morning, Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon called the SAAQclic situation "one of the biggest political scandals in Quebec's history." 

He said he wants to see a public and independent inquiry into the responsibility of CAQ's ministers, saying the Transport Ministry's investigation into itself falls short of restoring public trust in the department.

Québec Solidaire's co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal echoed the need for a public inquiry, adding that the attorney general wasn't able to determine how much or how little Guilbault knew about the problems facing SAAQclic, because it fell outside of her mandate. 

"[The attorney general] doesn't have all the answers. The verifications she made based on the facts didn't allow her to pinpoint where things were missing, she could just ask questions," said Ghazal.

After the report came out last week, Guilbault said the ministry had been misled by those in charge of the SAAQ and that she didn't know how dire the situation was. Plamondon says redacted internal documents and meeting minutes, obtained by the Quebec Liberal Party, related to SAAQclic cast doubt on those claims.

"If [the CAQ government] didn't ignore anything, why are they hiding what they knew?" Plamondon told reporters.

The Quebec Liberals also raised skepticism around the redaction, adding that, according to them, the AMP has the power to get to the bottom of their questions.

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.