The IT crisis at the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) ultimately cost more than 40 million, largely to hire additional resources. The organization will open a sixth service center in Montreal by February 2024 in order to double the number of appointments available in the region.
“We are talking about forty million for the cost of the crisis, with the hiring of around 400 people over a full year, as well as additional time and other expenses,” explained the CEO of the SAAQ on Tuesday. , Éric Ducharme, in response to questions from La Presse. It was he who took over from Denis Marsolais last April.
Essentially, hiring 465 people cost taxpayers $28 million. The additional time costs around six million, while a sum of 2.9 million was spent to add security agents.
An expenditure of 4.4 million was also authorized for communication, licenses and other costs, for a very exact total of 41.3 million. Mr. Ducharme affirms that beyond the financial plan, several lessons have been learned, including the fact of “better planning for mitigation measures” in the event of a transition.
For the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, these expenses remain entirely justified in the context of the digital crisis. At its peak, waiting times exceeded two hours at several service points, where queues accumulated due to the transition to the SAAQclic computer system which experienced several technical difficulties.
We had to find ways to have better service, and one way was to have more opening hours, more employees. There was a cost for that. If I had to do it again, we would do the same.
Geneviève Guilbault, Minister of Transport
“I think it was correct. We couldn’t have done without these expenses and said “we’re staying within standard hours”,” insisted M.me Guilbault.
This is a much higher expense than what was put forward last May, during the Ministry of Transport’s budgetary appropriations studies. At that time, it was claimed that the SAAQ fiasco had cost $2.6 million in overtime for employees of the state corporation.
In the opposition, we were quick to react. “41 million in public funds were wasted trying to correct completely botched planning by the CAQ. Amounts that could have been avoided if the government had listened to the warnings. […] This is completely unacceptable,” insisted liberal cybersecurity critic Michelle Setlakwe.
Sixth center for Montreal
Mme Guilbault was in Montreal on Tuesday to announce the opening of a sixth SAAQ service center, which will see the light of day by February 2024 at Place Versailles in eastern Montreal, in order to double the number appointments available in the area. These will in fact increase from 1390 to 2515 on a daily basis, an increase of 80%.
“This is a major addition which should, among other things, help us serve the clientele of new arrivals,” indicated M.me Guilbault on this subject.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Geneviève Guilbault,
Said center will see the light of day at Place Versailles, in eastern Montreal, at the beginning of 2024. It will become the sixth service branch of the automobile insurance company in the Montreal region, should make it possible to better “distribute customers “.
On average, the waiting time to get an appointment is 27 minutes in Greater Montreal, compared to 19 minutes for the rest of Quebec. For questions related to registration, only 67% of Montrealers can so far obtain an appointment within 30 minutes, compared to 97% in Quebec.
Quebec also announced on Tuesday a new payment holiday for all holders of a permanent, probationary or restricted driving license in classes 5 and 6, either a standard car or a motorcycle. This is the third consecutive year where the SAAQ has used its surplus linked to the reduction in the number of collisions during the pandemic to offer a payment holiday.
Thus, the cost of the permit for most Quebecers will be $25.50 in 2024, a saving of just over $100 for classes 5 and 6. For users combining both types of permits, the saving will reach just over $186. Quebec estimates that around $600 million will be returned to taxpayers.