Quebec health minister forced to defend cost overruns on IT projects

Health Minister Sonia Bélanger during Question Period on May 6, 2026. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

Quebec must follow the Gallant Commission’s recommendations and develop its own IT solutions, even if this leads to higher costs, says Health Minister Sonia Bélanger.

“It’s troubling, but it’s best practice,” she said to PQ MNA Joël Arseneau of Îles-de-la-Madeleine, who questioned her Tuesday morning about the costs of major IT projects during the review of the Ministry of Health’s budget.

Arseneau specifically addressed the issue of the appointment scheduling system project, whose costs have skyrocketed from $18 million to $126 million, as revealed by a Radio-Canada investigation.

The minister declined to confirm an exact total amount, saying only that the project’s cost amounts to “over $100 million.”

According to Radio-Canada, after asking the firm Petal to develop a scheduling system, the government reportedly decided to start the work over from scratch to develop a solution that it would own.

On Tuesday, Bélanger defended the decision, saying she wanted to follow the recommendations of the Gallant Commission.

“There is one recommendation that is very, very clear in the Gallant report: to ensure that the government can develop its autonomy, and that is extremely important.

“So, it was in this context that Santé Québec decided to award a contract to CGI so that the government could have its own system,” she said.

“They develop it, and then it’s up to us, rather than being constantly at the mercy of a firm that develops a product with us but then goes on to sell it to the rest of the world. That’s the direction we’re taking.

“I understand that this is unsettling, but it’s the right approach we’re taking,” Bélanger said.

The orchestrator project is “completely off the rails,” Liberal MNA Monsef Derraji said during Question Period on Tuesday afternoon. He pointed out that the project’s cost had increased by 600 per cent.

“Project after project, it’s the same scenario repeating itself: cost overruns, delays, lack of transparency, and improvisation,” Derraji said.

“The latest fiasco: the appointment scheduler. It was originally estimated at $18 million. Today, we’re talking about $126 million. Is the minister proud?” he asked.

“It’s not easy to implement information systems,” replied Bélanger, who said she was proud of the recent rollout of the Digital Health Record (DSN) in two regions of Quebec.

The minister is also overseeing the Système d’information en finances et en approvisionnement (SIFA) project, whose cost has skyrocketed from nearly $100 million to over $330 million.

And even though the contract with the firm in charge, LGS, has been suspended, royalties are still being paid: $723,000 per month since March.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 26, 2026.

Caroline Plante, The Canadian Press