Quebec's Auditor General will investigate the SAAQclic fiasco

Photo: Jacques Nadeau Le Devoir SAAQ service centers were closed for two weeks to allow for the digital transition, which led to long queues when they reopened.

The Canadian Press in Quebec

07:54

• Quebec

The Auditor General of Quebec has launched an audit into the deployment of the digital platform of the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec, SAAQclic, which experienced numerous failures during its launch in the winter 2023.

On its website, the office of the Auditor General, Guylaine Leclerc, offers a contribution form for an audit concerning “SAAQclic and its components”.

In this form, the population is invited to provide a description of the events they experienced in connection with the deployment of SAAQclic, which has already been described as a “fiasco” by the Minister of Cybersecurity and of Digital, Éric Caire.

The publication of the report related to this audit is currently scheduled for winter 2025, but the schedule can always be modified, reminds the Office of the Auditor General.

The newspaper Le Soleil, in Quebec, was the first to reveal the existence of this audit by the Auditor General, Friday morning.

Launched in February 2023, SAAQclic was presented as a platform that would allow customers to carry out most transactions online, including renewing a driving license, paying for registration or making an appointment for an examination. driving, among others.

Its launch, however, was fraught with pitfalls. Among other things, the SAAQ service centers had to be closed for two weeks to allow the transition, which led to long queues when they reopened.

Also read

• The SAAQ ignored the warnings of the public protector on SAAQclic
• The crisis at the SAAQ will have cost $41 million
• “It’s true, it was a fiasco” at the SAAQ, admits Minister Éric Caire

Last fall, the president and CEO of the SAAQ, Éric Ducharme, revealed that the cost of the digital transition boondoggle exceeded $41 million. This amount notably included the hiring of 465 people, representing an expenditure of $28 million on an annual basis, as well as $6 million in overtime.

Mr. Ducharme took office last April, when his predecessor Denis Marsolais was dismissed from his position by the council of ministers in the wake of the SAAQclic fiasco.