Legault tells auto board scandal inquiry he only learned of cost overruns in February

Quebec Premier François Legault testified on Tuesday that he was kept in the dark about hundreds of millions of dollars in cost overruns at the auto insurance board, laying most of the blame for the scandal on the leaders of the state-run corporation. 

Legault was the latest member of the government to take the stand at a public inquiry examining how the SAAQclic online platform, where Quebecers can renew driver's licences and register for road tests, cost at least $500 million more than planned.

The scandal has upended his government a little more than one year ahead of the provincial election, offering a steady stream of embarrassing headlines and political fodder for the opposition, who have accused Legault and his cabinet of misleading Quebecers.

On Tuesday, the premier said he knew nothing about the cost overruns until February, when the auditor general released a report revealing the total price tag of the platform would be more than $1.1 billion. He said he should have been told about the cost overruns sooner.

"I don’t find it normal that I learned so late that there’s an overrun of $500 million, that’s not nothing," he told the commission presided by Judge Denis Gallant.

Legault's appearance comes after previous testimony at the inquiry suggested his office was reportedly informed as early as 2020 of a risk of ballooning costs. A witness also testified that in September 2022 the province's top civil servant at the time — Yves Ouellet — was notified of a $222-million shortfall in the online platform. Legault's chief of staff, Martin Koskinen, took the stand later on Tuesday. Ouellet is expected to follow.

Throughout his testimony, Legault maintained that he had been unaware of the surging costs. He said he only learned in 2023 that the auto insurance board was launching an online platform — when the botched rollout caused long lineups outside Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec offices and delays for people trying to renew their licences or vehicle registrations. However, Legault said he thought the issues were an “implementation problem” that were resolved in the months that followed.

He said he didn't know the costs of the platform's online rollout were rising. During that period, he said, he was focused instead on managing the COVID-19 pandemic, the arrival of hundreds of thousands of temporary immigrants, and the cost-of-living crisis.

Legault said that among the members of his government, it's the transport minister who is ultimately responsible for the auto insurance board. However, he also said it was never made clear to those ministers — François Bonnardel, who was at the helm of the department between 2018-2022, and later Geneviève Guilbault, who currently holds that portfolio — that there would be an overrun of $500 million. 

Legault was asked to comment on a document produced by the auto board in 2022 that outlined some of the project's financials. A previous witness testified that Ouellet was sent the document that same year. The premier conceded the document showed an overrun of some $200 million, adding, “I would have liked to have known about it.” 

In closing remarks, Legault said that as premier, he is ultimately responsible for running the province, even as he cast the blame for the scandal elsewhere. 

"I think the ministers could have asked more questions, but for me the essence of the problem is with the people at the (auto board)," he said, suggesting those leaders had failed to inform the government of the project's true costs. 

"I don't want to say they hid things, but it seems the information that was given wasn't clear," he said. Quebecers expect to see consequences for those who are responsible, he added.

He also cast some blame on the previous Quebec Liberal government, which was in power when the original contract was signed in 2017. He suggested the contract had been poorly negotiated, lacking clear consequences if the project was delayed or over budget.

Legault announced the commission after the auditor general's report was published in February.

Since it began in April, it has heard from several former members of the board of directors of the auto insurance board, as well as Bonnardel, Guilbault and other high-ranking ministers. 

"I think that in Quebec we have work to do around the word accountability," Legault said Tuesday. "Everyone needs to be more accountable, and yes, there are still changes of mentality needed in public service and even in the government."

Legault did not address reporters after his testimony. 

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov