SAAQ to release all documents for investigations into SAAQclic

Monitors are seen in the courtroom of the Gallant Commission, a public inquiry into the failures of the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec's platform, SAAQclic, in Montreal on Thursday, Apr 24, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)

The SAAQ will release all legal advice, opinions, and counsel that could assist the Gallant Commission in its investigation into the financing of SAAQclic.

The Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ)’s announced it is waiving its lawyer-client privilege on Saturday. It said its board of directors voted to do so unanimously.

Documents will be handed over to Autorité des marchés publics (AMP) and Unité permanente anticorruption (UPAC) investigators.

Dominique Savoie, chair of the SAAQ’s board of directors, said it took steps to quickly resolve the issues of access to documents as soon as they were flagged.

“We are all driven by a single goal: the search for the truth,” he said.

“By lifting professional secrecy without reservation, the SAAQ hopes that all investigations will progress quickly and under the best possible conditions,” the SAAQ added in a news release.

The Quebec auto insurance board digital shift, which includes the SAAQclic platform, is expected to cost at least $1.1 billion, according to the Auditor General of Quebec.

The initial budget for the project was $638 million when it was launched in 2017.

Transportation Minister Geneviève Guilbault took to social media to say she’s glad to see the SAAQ followed the Coalition Avenir Québec and UPAC’s requests.

“It was the right thing to do,” she said on X.

The Legault administration has maintained that it was misinformed and blindsided by the cost overruns, and fired former minister Éric Caire.

However, testimonies before the Gallant commission have raised eyebrows and undermined their version of events.

Premier François Legault is scheduled to testify before the commission on Tuesday.

With files from The Canadian Press