The bill for the Gallant commission, which was tasked with shedding light on the SAAQclic fiasco, totals just over $7 Million so far.
According to figures released Friday morning, the public inquiry commission on the failures of the digital transformation of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) spent precisely $7,016,527 as of Oct. 31.
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More than half of this amount was allocated to staff compensation, totaling $4.78 million. The commission relied on approximately 60 employees during its work, including those involved in the approximately 75 days of public hearings.
The broadcast of these sessions, which ended last month, cost nearly two million dollars. The remaining expenses recorded to date are split almost equally between rent ($513,000) and operating costs ($518,000).
The bill for the public inquiry commission is expected to rise further, as Commissioner Denis Gallant and other members of his team work on drafting the report.
This report must be submitted to the Legault government by Feb. 13 and must include recommendations to prevent a situation like the one experienced by the SAAQ from recurring.
The Gallant Commission heard numerous testimonies and analyzed thousands of documents over the past few months in order to understand what may have caused 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, $500 million more than anticipated, according to calculations by the Auditor General of Quebec.
The commission of inquiry must publish an update of its expenses after the report is published.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
