Latest news with #GallantCommission
CTV News
8 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
SAAQclic ‘bumpy' as early as 2018, witness tells Gallant commission
The Gallant Commission, tasked with investigating the failures of the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) IT transition, on May 15, 2025, in Quebec City. (The Canadian Press/Jacques Boissinot) The digital transition at Quebec's automobile insurance board (SAAQ) was already 'bumpy' in 2018, the commission investigating the SAAQclic fiasco heard Monday. Sylvain Cloutier, director of the project office, testified before the Gallant commission, which travelled to Quebec City to begin its sixth week of hearings. He spoke about the coloured indicators used by his team to track progress — markers that, without clear explanation, often shifted from red to green. 'When things become increasingly chaotic, doesn't accountability matter?' asked Justice Denis Gallant, pressing Cloutier on his apparent lack of control over how the colours were assigned. Cloutier said the indicators 'on their own weren't enough' to give a full picture of the project's status. The board's vice-president of information technology, Karl Malenfant, would regularly step in to offer 'explanations.' Malenfant's name has surfaced repeatedly over the past six weeks at the Gallant commission. 'There were problems, but Mr. Malenfant didn't try to hide them,' said Cloutier. 'He's an experienced man. He's led major projects at Hydro-Québec, at Rio Tinto. He knows what he's talking about. He came in to explain things and reassure the team — not reassure as in spinning stories,' Cloutier added. 'Was everyone aware?' commission lawyer Vincent Ranger asked. 'Was Mr. Malenfant transparent about how difficult the rollout was?' 'Yes,' Cloutier replied. 'Would it be fair to say Mr. Malenfant is naturally optimistic?' Ranger followed up. 'Yes, that's true,' Cloutier said. 'But not in a head-in-the-clouds way. He likes a challenge.' 'I didn't take bribes' Cloutier also admitted Monday to manipulating a public tender worth over $1 million so it would be awarded to external consultant Stéphane Mercier. 'That was my mistake,' Cloutier acknowledged under questioning from Justice Gallant. 'I'm not saying what I did was right. But I take responsibility — it was me.' In 2017, Cloutier urgently requested the bidding threshold be lowered to $990,000 after Mercier informed him he couldn't qualify for the contract because he didn't have authorization from Quebec's financial markets authority. That authorization is required for contracts valued at more than $1 million. 'I was in a panic,' Cloutier said, recalling thinking, 'If I don't have this guy to keep going, we're in deep trouble (…) I'm losing expertise.' 'I did it with the intention of not delaying the project,' he said. 'I didn't take any bribes. I'm not going on fishing trips. I'm not sailing around on a yacht. That's not what this is.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French June 9, 2025.
CBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Quebec's anti-corruption unit reveals it's been investigating SAAQclic debacle for months
Quebec's anti-corruption unit, known as UPAC, announced on Thursday it has been investigating the chaotic rollout of SAAQclic for more than three months. The unit had been analyzing the available information surrounding Quebec's automobile insurance board's failed digital shift but would not confirm whether it had initiated an investigation. The anti-corruption commissioner, who co-ordinates UPAC's operations, confirmed the news of the investigation in a news release Thursday. Given the "exceptional circumstances" surrounding the issue and after having studied the scathing report by the province's auditor general, the commissioner said the team launched an investigation at the end of February into "possible wrongdoing in the management of the CASA/SAAQclic IT project." Mathieu Galarneau, spokesperson for the commissioner, indicated in the statement that no further details on the ongoing investigation would be provided. The rollout of the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ)'s digital platform is also being investigated by the Gallant commission — a public inquiry presided over by Denis Gallant, which began on April 24. So far, there have been several revelations, including a fourfold increase in the hourly rates of consultants. A former internal auditor at the SAAQ also told the inquiry that several people who won calls for tenders for "strategic resources" had professional ties with Karl Malenfant, the former vice-president of the SAAQ's digital experience and the project director for CASA. François Geoffrion, who sat on the SAAQ's board of directors from 2013 to 2022, told the commission the board knew that the digital transformation project was "risky" and had "all the flaws." At the end of May, Jérôme Verreault, a former financial controller at SAAQclic, explained to Gallant and his team that payment delays were "exploding" and the SAAQ even received "notices of termination of services" from its suppliers. The public inquiry will continue throughout the summer.
CTV News
5 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
SAAQclic: Cost overruns possibly a ‘small detail' overlooked
Monitors are seen in the courtroom of the Gallant Commission, a public inquiry into the failures of the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec's platform, SAAQclic, in Montreal on Thursday, Apr 24, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press) It is 'quite possible' that the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) failed, at the time of the call for tenders, to consider a scenario in which its digital transformation budget was completely exhausted, according to testimony from a former strategic advisor. On Wednesday, the Gallant commission examined how the call for tenders was developed to find the consortium tasked with creating the SAAQclic platform. It heard from individuals who supported the Crown corporation during that process. Madeleine Chagnon, an external strategic advisor hired for the project, found herself defending what the SAAQ had included in the tender documents in case of cost overruns beyond the initial budget envelope. Chagnon pointed to a risk-sharing clause that outlined certain mechanisms, including potential rate reductions and the option to draw from savings achieved by completing parts of the project more efficiently than expected. She also mentioned a contingency — a percentage of the original budget set aside for unforeseen issues. Commission lawyer Vincent Ranger pressed Chagnon on what had been planned in the event all those funds were used up. 'I think that behind these big ideas of risk-sharing and innovation, a small detail may have been forgotten in the original call for tenders — namely, what would happen in the event of cost overruns. Is that possible?' the lawyer asked. 'We added the concept of zero additional costs and, afterwards, look — maybe. I can't tell you no. It's possible, quite possible,' Chagnon replied. Ranger then presented a document showing questions submitted by potential suppliers during the tendering process. One of them asked how cost overruns would be handled if the entire contingency amount was spent. The response was that it was a 'risk that must be managed,' and that the phased approach to the project 'would help anticipate that type of situation.' It was also noted that the SAAQ did not foresee 'any increase to the budget envelope' and that 'should that envelope be exceeded,' the corporation 'may terminate the business relationship.' The SAAQ's tech modernization project could cost at least $1.1 billion by 2027 — $500 million more than originally planned, according to calculations by the Auditor General. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French June 4, 2025.
CTV News
02-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
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
Montreal Gazette
22-05-2025
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
External employees quadrupled their hourly rate to $350, SAAQ commission hears
The hourly rate charged by external employees working on the IT modernization of the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec increased significantly, from $82 to $350 per hour, during the first year of the project. This was revealed by documents presented Thursday morning to the Gallant Commission, which is investigating the failures of the government corporation's digital transformation, including the SAAQclic platform. A former SAAQ internal auditor, Martin Després, testified to commissioner Denis Gallant that he noticed a change in the hourly rate of external employees as early as 2018, the year after the contract was awarded. These workers hired by suppliers had the lowest rate stipulated in the contract, $82 per hour, which is associated with the technology integration job profile. They saw their hourly rate climb to one of the highest levels, $350 per hour, linked to 'leading-edge expertise.' Such a change in salary scale was observed in the same billing period, noted Després, who worked for the SAAQ from 2016 to 2023. Després explained that he had not noticed any 'significant difference' in their tasks that could explain an increase in the hourly rate. Initially, the suppliers' quotes anticipated the use of nearly 10,800 hours for 'advanced expertise' at $350 per hour over five years. About three years after the contract began, in February 2020, the project had consumed nearly 35,000 hours for this type of profile, according to a cost analysis by Després. The SAAQ's technological modernization project could cost at least $1.1 billion by 2027, or $500 million more than expected, according to the auditor general.
