Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault and her team were aware of significant challenges with the SAAQclic project before its launch, including incomplete final tests and multiple delays. The project’s budget soared from $638 million to $1.1 billion, leading to missed deadlines and a postponed second delivery. Following an Auditor General report, Prime Minister François Legault and other ministers expressed feelings of deception regarding the project’s status, resulting in Minister Caire’s resignation. Guilbault acknowledged her limited IT expertise in overseeing the project.
Insights into the SAAQclic Project’s Challenges
Recent revelations indicate that the Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault and her team were aware of significant challenges just weeks before the SAAQclic project’s launch. François Legault’s administration had knowledge that crucial final tests were incomplete, leaving little room for successful deployment.
On November 2, 2022, it was disclosed that Minister Guilbault was briefed on the status of the SAAQclic initiative, highlighting multiple delays and concerns over at least six key project indicators, which were color-coded in red and yellow to signify their urgency. This information was presented shortly after her appointment as Transport Minister, indicating a pressing awareness of the project’s complexities.
Budget Overruns and Project Delays
According to the Auditor General of Quebec, the budget allocated for the digital transformation of the Société d’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) has surged from an original estimate of $638 million to a staggering $1.1 billion. The report indicates that critical deadlines were missed, which prompted the SAAQ board to recommend postponing the commissioning of Delivery 2 from December 2022 to February 2023. Even with this extension, necessary tests were still not completed when the second delivery was launched.
In light of these findings, Prime Minister François Legault asserted that his government had been misled. Both Minister Caire and Minister Guilbault echoed this sentiment, expressing their feelings of having been deceived about the project’s status. Following the Auditor General’s report, Minister Caire resigned amidst the fallout from the SAAQclic debacle.
When questioned about her involvement in the oversight of the project, Minister Guilbault stated that she had limited expertise in IT and relied heavily on the CEO and board chairman for updates, emphasizing that she did not possess the technical knowledge to delve deeply into the details of a decade-long project.