Quebec's public contracts watchdog has issued a blistering report condemning the management of the SAAQclic digitalization project, ordering the province's automobile insurance corporation to conduct a rigorous internal audit and report back every six months.
Watchdog Orders Strict Oversight After Project Failure
In a decision made public on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, the Autorité des marchés publics (AMP) delivered a withering analysis of the SAAQ's handling of the SAAQclic initiative. The project, intended to modernize the operations of the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec, has been plagued by problems since its troubled launch in February 2023.
The AMP's report found the project suffered from "deficient planning… notably in the evaluation of needs, market analysis and cost estimates." These fundamental failures set the stage for the subsequent fiasco, which included massive delays, technical glitches, and a public inquiry.
Half-Billion Dollar Overruns and Flawed Processes
The financial scale of the mismanagement is staggering. By the time Quebec's auditor general revealed the project's deep-seated issues, cost overruns had ballooned to nearly $500 million beyond an initial budget of $638 million.
The AMP's investigation uncovered serious flaws in how contracts were awarded. The report states the SAAQ "did not conduct an adequate and rigorous evaluation of its needs" and that its management gave a "clear advantage" to the supplier, SAP Canada Inc. Alarmingly, the SAAQ based its cost estimates to the Quebec Treasury Board solely on numbers provided by SAP and failed to perform a serious independent market analysis.
The process for publishing calls for tender and evaluating bids was found to be neither independent, impartial, nor confidential.
Corrective Orders and Ongoing Scrutiny
Beyond mandating the semi-annual audits, the AMP has given the SAAQ 60 days to comply with specific corrective orders. The agency must:
- Explain what actions it will take to address the fact that contracted goods and services were not delivered.
- Evaluate how it manages contracts and ensure its management respects existing regulations.
The SAAQclic project's botched rollout caused significant disruption for Quebec drivers seeking licenses and registrations, leading to long lineups and public frustration. The AMP's intervention now imposes a strict framework of accountability on the SAAQ to rectify its procedures and prevent a repeat of such costly failures in public-sector digital transformation projects.
