Inquiry into cost-overrun scandal at Quebec’s auto insurance board wraps up

Commissioner Denis Gallant arrives at an inquiry into the rollout of SAAQclic by Quebec's auto insurance board in Quebec City on Thursday, May 15, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

MONTREAL — Public hearings into $500 million in cost overruns at Quebec’s auto insurance board have wrapped up.

Commissioner Denis Gallant has until Feb. 13, 2026, to submit his report with recommendations to the provincial government.

Premier François Legault launched the inquiry after a February report by the province’s auditor general revealed cost overruns of at least half a billion dollars in the creation of the online platform known as SAAQclic.

The botched 2023 rollout of the platform led to major delays and long lineups at insurance board branches, where Quebecers take road tests, register vehicles and access other services.

Legault had testified that he was kept in the dark about the cost overruns and laid most of the blame for the scandal on the leaders of the state-run corporation.

Éric Caire was forced to step down as cybersecurity minister following the explosive auditor report, and Quebec’s anticorruption unit has opened an investigation into possible wrongdoing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2025.