Gallant Commission: Over 1,800 contracts awarded on the sidelines of SAAQclic project
The Gallant Commission is investigating the events that led to the SAAQclic fiasco. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)
Over 1,800 contracts have been signed as part of the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ)'s digital transformation, excluding the main contract signed with the consortium.
This was revealed on Monday morning at the Gallant Commission, which is investigating the failures of the Crown corporation's IT project, known as the Carrefour des services affaires (CASA) and encompassing the SAAQclic platform.
A lawyer for the commission, Charlotte Deslauriers-Goulet, presented the contractual timeline behind the SAAQ's technological modernization.
She indicated that at least 1,879 contracts, which she describes as 'satellite' contracts, have been signed over the past 10 years.
These are 'all contracts that are evolving or have evolved on the periphery' of the $458.4-million framework contract signed in 2017 with the alliance formed by SAP (owned by IBM) and LGS, said Deslauriers-Goulet.
The list may include strategic consulting mandates awarded in 2015, before the tender process was launched, as well as technical support during the project's development.
'Some of these satellite contracts were concluded fairly recently. This is because they include contracts aimed at ensuring that CASA eventually comes into being or that help to rectify the problematic situation that arose when the online platform was launched, which the media have dubbed the 'SAAQclic fiasco,'' said the lawyer.
The commission does not yet know the total value of these 'satellite' contracts, which are in addition to the initial budget of $458.4 million and the additional expenses of $153.7 million related to the contract with the alliance.
'But we know that we are talking about a considerable amount,' said Deslauriers-Goulet.
The commission is continuing to analyze this list of contracts, which was provided by the SAAQ itself. The commission has also been unable to identify 'with certainty' all the co-contractors involved, but some have dealt directly with members of the consortium, said Deslauriers-Goulet.
It should be noted that the SAAQ's technological modernization project could cost at least $1.1 billion by 2027, which is $500 million more than expected, according to the Auditor General's (AG) calculations.
It is possible that the AG took some of these 'satellite contracts' into account in its estimate, but without knowing their number.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 2, 2025.
By Frédéric Lacroix-Couture, The Canadian Press
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