Commission investigating SAAQclic fiasco cost $7 million

Le commissaire Denis Gallant, en haut à gauche, pendant une audience de la commission d'enquête sur SAAQclic, vue depuis la salle de contrôle pour la diffusion des audiences, à Montréal, le jeudi 9 octobre 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press)

The Gallant Commission, which was tasked with shedding light on the SAAQclic fiasco, has cost just over $7 million to date.

According to figures released on Friday morning, the public inquiry commission into failures of the Quebec auto insurance board’s (SAAQ) digital transformation spent precisely $7.016 million as of Oct. 31.

More than half of this amount was spent on staff salaries, totalling $4.78 million. The commission employed approximately 60 people during its work, including those involved in the 75 days of public hearings.

The broadcast of these sessions, which ended last month, cost nearly $1.2 million.

The rest of the expenses recorded to date are divided almost equally between space rental ($513,000) and operating costs ($518,000).

The Gallant Commission had premises in Quebec City until Sept. 1 and is still renting offices in Montreal until Dec. 1. As for operating expenses, a significant portion was spent on stenographic notes, the commission said.

The public inquiry commission’s bill is expected to rise further as Commissioner Denis Gallant and other members of his team work on drafting the report.

The report must be submitted to the Legault government by Feb. 13 and must include recommendations to prevent another situation like the one experienced by the SAAQ (Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec) from happening again.

The Gallant Commission has heard numerous testimonies and analyzed thousands of documents over the past few months to understand what may have caused the cost overruns and the failed launch of the SAAQclic platform.

The technological modernization of the Crown corporation is expected to cost taxpayers at least $1.1 billion by 2027, which is $500 million more than anticipated, according to calculations by the Auditor General of Quebec.

The commission of inquiry is expected to publish an update on its expenses after the report is released.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 14, 2025.