Early Warnings Ignored: The SAAQclic Dispute and Quebec’s Political Saga
Hey, so here’s what’s been unfolding around François Bonnardel and the SAAQclic fiasco—it’s quite the story, and it dates back much earlier than most people realize. Back in 2020, the office of Quebec Premier François Legault was apparently informed about a dispute involving the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, the SAAQ, and its contractor, “l’Alliance,” which was tasked with developing the SAAQclic digital platform. This wasn’t a minor disagreement—it foreshadowed a major financial headache for the province.
Véronik Aubry, who served as François Bonnardel’s chief of staff from 2018 to 2021, gave testimony before the Gallant Commission, shedding light on the early stages of the saga. She recalled a meeting in July 2020 with Nathalie Tremblay, the CEO of SAAQ, during which Tremblay explained that there was a contractual dispute with the consortium working on SAAQclic. At that time, the platform’s delivery had been delayed by a year, yet it was reassured that the contract’s budget, set at 458 million dollars, would remain unchanged.
Aubry mentioned that she had passed this information along to Ariane Gauthier, a political advisor in the premier’s office, noting the delay in timelines. The revelation is significant because Premier Legault has repeatedly claimed that he had no knowledge of the looming disaster before the failed launch of SAAQclic in the winter of 2023. The commission’s documents suggest otherwise, indicating that the cabinet was made aware of signals pointing to trouble.
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The hearings also revealed some tension. Commissioner Denis Gallant expressed frustration with members of Bonnardel’s team who seemed content with “partial information” that didn’t reflect reality. It was highlighted that parliamentary oversight was not fully informed about the true costs of SAAQclic, which later ballooned to nearly a billion dollars, according to Quebec’s Auditor General.
Further testimony showed that in May 2020, SAAQ was preparing an annual summary of its digital transformation. This report hinted at a possible postponement of the SAAQclic launch, originally scheduled for December 2021. Interestingly, Véronik Aubry admitted that she had advised the CEO to remove this reference, fearing it was premature to include uncertain information in an official summary. The commissioner was visibly irritated by this, pointing out that even partial warnings should not have been ignored.
So, as of now, the saga has been framed as a combination of miscommunication, delayed transparency, and political denials. François Bonnardel, now Quebec’s Minister of Public Security, is expected to testify further, maintaining that he was misled from the beginning. Meanwhile, questions linger over how early warnings about the SAAQclic project were handled and whether more decisive action could have prevented the massive cost overruns that followed.
In short, this isn’t just a story about a delayed software launch—it’s about accountability, transparency, and the complex dance between political offices and public institutions. The full fallout is still being unraveled in real time at the Gallant Commission.
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