SAAQclic scandal: Gallant Commission costs $7 million so far

Commissioner Denis Gallant, top left, during a hearing of the SAAQclic inquiry commission, seen from the control room for broadcasting the hearings, in Montreal, Thursday, October 9, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press)

The bill for the Gallant Commission, which was tasked with shedding light on the SAAQclic fiasco, comes to just over $7 million so far.

According to figures released Friday morning, the public inquiry commission into the failures of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ)’s digital transformation has spent precisely $7.016 million as of Oct. 31.

More than half of the amount was spent on staff salaries, for a total of $4.78 million. The commission relied on approximately 60 employees during its work, including those involved in the 75 days of public hearings.

The broadcast of these sessions, which ended last month, cost nearly $1.2 million. The rest of the expenses recorded to date are divided almost equally between space rental ($513,000) and operating costs ($518,000).

The Gallant Commission had offices in Quebec City until Sept. 1 and is still renting offices in Montreal until Dec. 1. As for operating expenses, a significant portion was spent on stenographic notes, the commission said.

The public inquiry bill is expected to rise further as Commissioner Denis Gallant and other members of his team work on drafting the report.

The report must be submitted to the François Legault government by Feb. 13 and must include recommendations to prevent another situation like the one experienced by the SAAQ from happening again.

The Gallant commission has heard numerous testimonies and analyzed thousands of documents over the past few months to understand what may have caused the cost overruns and the failed launch of the SAAQclic platform.

It should be noted that the technological modernization of the Crown corporation is expected to cost taxpayers at least $1.1 billion by 2027, which is $500 million more than anticipated, according to calculations by the Auditor General of Quebec.

The inquiry is expected to publish an update on its expenses after the report is released.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 14, 2025.

By Frédéric Lacroix-Couture, The Canadian Press