SAAQClic inquiry: Former CEO was ‘unaware’ of Malenfant’s Hydro-Québec issues

Nathalie Tremblay, left, former president of the Society de l’Assurance Automobile (SAAQ) walks in to testify at an inquiry in Quebec City on Monday Sept. 15, 2025. Tremblay is accompanied by investigator Stephane Levasseur, An inquiry commission was called to identify the causes and circumstances underlying the problems with managing and implementing the CASA program for the Societe d’Assurance automobile du Quebec. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press) (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

When she hired Karl Malenfant in 2013, former Quebec auto insurance board (SAAQ) CEO Nathalie Tremblay says she was unaware he had difficulties at Hydro-Québec.

That’s what she told the Gallant Commission, which is investigating the SAAQclic fiasco, under oath on Monday.

“No allegations ... were brought to my attention,” she said.

Tremblay held the highest position at the SAAQ from 2010 to 2022.

She left the company shortly before the failed rollout of SAAQclic, which incurred major cost overruns and caused huge lines in front of branches in the winter of 2023.

In February 2025, Quebec’s auditor general stated in a report that the SAAQ’s digital shift is expected to cost at least $1.1 billion by 2027, which is $500 million more than anticipated.

According to several accounts, before joining the SAAQ as vice president of information technology, Malenfant failed his IT project at Hydro-Québec.

Tremblay said she never heard of these setbacks. The headhunter Odgers, who had submitted Karl Malenfant’s name to her, had not mentioned them either.

Five years later, in 2018, Journal de Québec journalist Pierre-Paul Biron reported that Malenfant’s IT project at Hydro-Québec was “described at the time as a ‘fiasco.’”

“I was not aware of Hydro-Québec’s project in 2013. I did not know what would be reported in the newspapers five years later,” Tremblay said.

On May 20, former SAAQ board member Anne-Marie Croteau testified that Karl Malenfant’s difficult career path at Hydro-Québec was seen as an asset.

She said she participated in the final interview to confirm Malenfant’s hiring at the SAAQ.

“We thought that the fact that it had been difficult at Hydro-Québec was perhaps a way for him to learn from past experiences. For us, it was a bit of a guarantee that he would be careful not to repeat old mistakes,” she said.

Easing of regulations

In 2013, the SAAQ decided to entrust Malenfant with the overhaul of its computer systems. Under his guidance, it convinced the government to relax its rules.

Instead of notifying the chief information officer of delays or cost overruns, it was now necessary to notify Malenfant, prosecutor Simon Tremblay summarized.

“Mr. Malenfant is not alone in his world,” Tremblay insisted. “He has a boss, me, an executive committee, ... a board of directors ... There were mechanisms in place.”

Tremblay agreed, however, that allowing SAP—a potential bidder—to participate in the selection of software for SAAQclic had been “risky.”

“I asked the questions,” she assured. “The answer I was given was: ... SAP is already a supplier to us. We have the right to talk to them because we already have a business relationship with them.”

Malenfant never mentioned that he had already worked with SAP at Hydro-Québec, according to her testimony. “Not at all,” said Tremblay.

The Gallant Commission is continuing its work throughout the week in Quebec City.

It will hear two key testimonies: that of Tremblay, followed by Malenfant’s highly anticipated testimony.

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

Caroline Plante, The Canadian Press