In an unprecedented move that has sent shockwaves through Quebec’s public administration, Premier François Legault announced Tuesday the immediate dismissal of Éric Duhaime, president and CEO of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), following the catastrophic rollout of the agency’s digital platform.
The botched implementation of SAAQclic, which left thousands of Quebecers waiting in marathon lines and unable to access essential services since February, has finally claimed its highest-profile casualty. Premier Legault, speaking at a press conference in Quebec City, did not mince words about the decision.
“The implementation of SAAQclic was nothing short of a fiasco,” Legault stated. “After careful review of the situation, we’ve determined that leadership changes are necessary to restore public confidence in this essential service.”
The digital transformation project, initially touted as a modernization effort to streamline vehicle registration and licensing services, instead created chaos across the province when it launched earlier this year. Wait times at SAAQ offices ballooned to unprecedented levels, with some citizens reporting standing in line for up to eight hours to complete basic transactions that previously took minutes.
Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault, who oversees the SAAQ, revealed that an internal investigation found critical planning failures in the platform’s development and testing phases. “We discovered that despite warnings from technical staff about the system’s readiness, leadership pushed forward with the launch without adequate contingency plans,” Guilbault explained.
The scandal has raised serious questions about Quebec’s approach to digital transformation of government services. Technology experts point to the SAAQclic debacle as a textbook example of how not to implement large-scale government IT projects.
“This represents a fundamental failure of change management,” said Marc Tremblay, a digital governance specialist at Université de Montréal. “The leadership apparently dismissed technical concerns and failed to properly test the system with real users before going live.”
The government has appointed Claire Beaudoin, former deputy minister of digital transformation, as interim CEO while a search for permanent leadership begins. Beaudoin’s first task will be implementing an emergency recovery plan to clear the backlog of cases and stabilize the platform.
For citizens like Montreal resident Jean Tremblay, the changes can’t come soon enough. “I’ve been trying to transfer my vehicle registration for six weeks,” he told CO24 News. “I’ve visited offices three times and spent over 15 hours waiting, only to be turned away because their systems weren’t working.”
Financial implications of the scandal extend beyond immediate fixes. Initial estimates suggest the government will spend an additional $15 million on emergency measures, including extended service hours and temporary staffing to address the backlog. The original SAAQclic project had already cost taxpayers $96 million.
Opposition parties have seized on the scandal, with Québec Solidaire calling for a broader investigation into the province’s digital strategy. “This isn’t just about one agency or one platform,” said Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, the party’s co-spokesperson. “We need to examine how the CAQ government is managing all digital transformation projects.”
As Quebec attempts to rebuild trust in its auto insurance corporation, questions remain about accountability throughout the organization. Was Duhaime solely responsible for this costly digital failure, or does this point to deeper structural issues in how Quebec approaches modernization of public services?
