Gallant commission into SAAQclic scandal extended to Dec. 15
Quebec Politics
QUEBEC — The Legault government announced Thursday that it has agreed to extend the Gallant Commission's investigation into the SAAQclic fiasco until Dec. 15, 2025.
Commissioner Denis Gallant was initially scheduled to submit his final report by Sept. 30.
He clearly needs more time to fulfill his mandate; testimony has been pouring in for six weeks, but it is far from over.
The commission heard from several former members of the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) board of directors, former internal auditors, and a former vice-president of finance.
It has not yet met with the presidents and CEOs, the project manager who was central to the digital shift, Karl Malenfant, or Legault government ministers.
The SAAQ's failed digital transformation is expected to cost taxpayers at least $1.1 billion by 2027, or $500 million more than expected, according to calculations by the auditor general.
The hearings, which were scheduled to end on June 20, will now resume in Montreal at the end of August.
SAAQ hid costs
On Thursday, former SAAQ Vice-President of Finance Yves Frenette — testifying for the third consecutive day — grudgingly acknowledged that the government corporation had hidden costs in 2022.
In June 2022, Frenette was invited to review a 'placemat' intended for Ministers Éric Caire and François Bonnardel, which indicated that the cost of the digital project was $682 million.
But it was actually $945 million, Frenette acknowledged Thursday, saying he wasn't surprised to see this figure in the auditor's report that sparked controversy last February.
The figure presented to politicians includes the 'implementation' cost, but not the 'recurring' cost, which had been part of the original calculation.
The commission's lawyer, Marie-Claude Sarrazin, then suggested to Frenette that they had stopped comparing 'apples to apples' and were instead comparing 'an apple to half an apple.'
Frenette could only agree. No further details on the discussions with the ministers have been released so far.
Timing 'suits the CAQ', Liberals say
The official opposition in the National Assembly says it understands the need to extend the commission's work.
'Given the scope of the scandal, the mass of information, and the number of testimonies, I understand,' Quebec Liberal Party House Leader Monsef Derraji said.
However, he deplored the fact that the report will not be submitted until after the end of the fall parliamentary session, when MNAs return to their ridings for the Christmas holidays.
'No debate in the Assembly or accountability before elected officials: let's be frank, that suits the CAQ government perfectly,' Derraji said.
The Parti Québécois agreed. 'Premier François Legault, who wanted to move quickly, now seems much less eager to obtain the conclusions of the investigation,' MNA Joël Arseneau said.
He emphasized that the testimonies have been, so far, 'damning,' the revelations 'troubling' and marked by 'suspicions of corruption.'
'We have the impression that the government took the opportunity to postpone the submission of the report until after the end of the session to avoid being held accountable before the end of 2025,' he added.
Québec solidaire said Thursday that it would reserve its comments.
'Extremely dense' evidence
On Thursday, commission spokesperson Joanne Marceau said it was indeed the commission that requested a two-and-a-half-month extension.
In a telephone interview, she stated that investigators had received 100,000 documents and then met with 160 witnesses, 42 of whom were questioned before the commissioner.
'Our evidence is extremely dense. ... No witness is useless,' she said.
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