SAAQ board asked to exercise restraint before the election

SAAQ lawyers Audrey Gagnon, left, speaks with colleague Sebastien Laprise at a special inquiry into the causes and circumstances underlying the problems with managing and implementing the CASA program for the Societe d’Assurance automobile du Quebec, in Quebec City on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Jacques Boissinot/ The Canadian Press)

Former Quebec auto insurance board (SAAQ) chairman Konrad Sioui asked his colleagues in 2022 to use discretion “in the context of a general election.”

This is what can be read in the minutes of the Sept. 15, 2022 board meeting, which were submitted as evidence to the Gallant Commission investigating the SAAQclic fiasco.

Under the “2022 Elections” tab, Sioui emphasizes “the importance of exercising restraint, prudence, and discretion during public demonstrations and on social media.”

At the time, the board of directors was aware budgets were exploding, “particularly due to the increase in compensation due to the needs for the (digital) transformation.”

The minutes report a deficit at the SAAQ: the vice-president of finance “emphasizes that the relevant government authorities have been informed of the situation.”

The SAAQ’s failed digital transformation caused huge queues in front of branches in 2023. It will cost at least $1.1 billion by 2027, $500 million more than expected, according to the auditor feneral (AG).

On Thursday, Liberal MNA Monsef Derraji was pleased to finally have access to the redacted minutes.

“Stop telling us that the government didn’t know, since 2022, that SAAQclic’s budget had exploded!” he wrote on X.

Last March, Derraji said he suspected Sioui’s board of directors of having engaged in “political interference” to protect the CAQ government in an interview with The Canadian Press.

He referred to a passage in the AG’s report concerning a contract that was split up in 2022 due to a “high political and media risk.”

Ministers’ confidentiality oath lifted

Thursday afternoon, the commission’s chief prosecutor, Simon Tremblay, announced that the Legault government had adopted a decree lifting the confidentiality oath for ministers.

Such an oath prevents a minister from disclosing confidential information.

The suspension applies to the premier, Transport, Finance, and Digital Affairs Ministers, the Treasury Board president, as well as all former holders of these positions, Tremblay listed.

It required the approval of former premiers Philippe Couillard and Pauline Marois.

During his speech, Tremblay thanked the government for responding favorably to the commission’s request.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 15, 2025.