Experience has taught us that we must take with a grain of salt the statements of the Minister of Cybersecurity and Digital, Éric Caire, who sometimes tends to distort reality to his advantage.
It will come as no surprise to anyone that a politician tries to show off, but there are limits he has not hesitated to cross in the past. Thus, in an interview granted to a colleague of the Sun last November, he assured that the Quebec Digital Identity Service (SQIN) was already operational at the Ministry of the Family (MFA).
“He’s deployed there. Currently, we have 30,000 users [des éducatrices] who use SQIN to connect to MFA services […] We did it, it’s going well for the moment, ”said Mr. Caire.
This was not simply an exaggeration, but a fallacy, which his own deputy minister, Pierre E. Rodrigue, had to correct: “No, they are not connected. The service does not exist. […] We will test it with 40 [utilisatrices] and go gradually. The MFA has a potential pool that could access it of 30,000 people. The Federation of Early Childhood Workers, which brings together 13,000, had not yet heard of it.
Mr. Cairo also has a tendency to blame others for his own faults. During the Action Démocratique du Québec leadership race in 2009, he was accused of embellishing his curriculum vitae in such a way as to suggest that he had a bachelor’s degree in communications from Laval University, while he had only attended one session. He blamed this “misunderstanding” on an error by a volunteer working on his campaign.
To hear it, the entire responsibility for the computer mess that poisons the lives of users of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) rests with his colleague from Transport, Geneviève Guilbault.
Even if the SAAQclic project was led by the state-owned company itself, which certainly has its faults, Mr. Caire will not be able to convince anyone that the ministry created expressly to ensure that the transition to digital goes smoothly. had no reason to care.
One can imagine the racket he would have made when he was in opposition if a minister had shown such casualness. The interim leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec, Marc Tanguay, posed the question that everyone had in mind: “What is he for, Éric Caire? Why do we pay him as head of digital? Let him go and re-read his mission, we pay him so that he asks all the questions. »
The PLQ is demanding that it appear before a parliamentary commission, which the government will certainly refuse, unless it wants to throw it under the wheels of the bus. Curiously, we don’t seem to want to hear the version of Mme Guilbault. It is always better to attack the weakest link in the chain.
In 2018, Mr. Caire could consider himself lucky to reach the Council of Ministers after having had the imprudence to take out a personal loan from the mayor of L’Ancienne-Lorette, in his constituency of La Peltrie, thus exposing himself in a potential conflict of interest situation. He missed a good opportunity to show Mr. Legault that he did well to pass the towel.
A crisis, no matter how severe, is always revealing. Even if we feel like we have nothing to blame ourselves for, we can show our solidarity and try to be part of the solution or try to save our ass. Mr. Cairo chose the second option. The Prime Minister’s Office has surely taken note of this.
In contrast, M.me Guilbault took advantage of the situation to score points with a model demonstration of support: hasty return from Europe, rapid announcement of mitigation measures, appearance on the ground, all seasoned with a fair dose of contrition.
The Deputy Prime Minister, however, has the reputation of having a long memory. “Normally, it is the management of the SAAQ who would be in front of you and who would explain themselves, but it has been me for a week. And I will continue to do so as long as necessary, ”she told reporters on Friday. At the top of the SAAQ, you must sleep very badly.
Despite the inconvenience caused to users, the political cost to be paid for the Legault government will undoubtedly not be very high. The next general election is still a long way off and this unfortunate episode will no doubt be long forgotten.
Provided that we learn the necessary lessons. Above all, the transition to digital must not lead to chaos in all government services.