The official opposition fell head over heels on Wednesday on the Minister responsible for Digital, Éric Caire, “who looks like the Minister not at all responsible for Digital”, launched André Fortin.
The Liberal MP accused him of not taking responsibility for the migration of services from the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) to the SAAQclic platform.
” The Minister […] released his entire apology book to us. He told us […] he is not the head of digital transformation at the SAAQ. […] So, can he tell us what he is responsible for? said Mr. Fortin.
For several days now, the Legault government has been in the hot seat, the digital shift at the SAAQ having experienced many failures, but Éric Caire in particular has been singled out.
“I still don’t understand what Eric Caire is doing in the government. Digital Manager, what does he do? launched the interim Liberal leader, Marc Tanguay, at a press briefing.
According to him, Mr. Caire should have anticipated the problems and made sure to ask the right questions, especially since he had met with the SAAQ team last November to talk about SAAQclic.
“What advice did he give? asked MP Haroun Bouazzi, from Québec solidaire, in the House.
Without answering the question, Mr. Caire defended himself by saying that his role was after all restricted by law. He emphasized the need for him to enforce “industry standards”.
Legault will “act accordingly”
The day before, Prime Minister François Legault had exonerated his minister to blame the SAAQ.
“Basically, the concept of ministerial responsibility, at the Coalition avenir Québec, comes down to saying that it’s the fault of others,” protested Wednesday the leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
Mr. Legault replied that he was taking ” [s] has a share of responsibility in the poor planning of the SAAQ”.
“In the next few weeks, I will act accordingly,” he added. On Tuesday, he said he would “evaluate” the work of the SAAQ’s president and CEO and board of directors.