Ex-minister tells Quebec auto board scandal inquiry he knew project was over budget

Quebec’s former minister of Cybersecurity and Digital Technology has told a public inquiry he knew the provincial auto insurance board’s digital transition project was over budget in 2021.

Éric Caire made the comments while testifying before the Gallant Commission, which is investigating how the creation of the auto board’s online platform ended up more than $500 million over budget.

He was asked to explain an email exchange from September 2021 with his chief of staff, in which Caire expressed doubt that a lack of human resources could fully explain the troubles with the IT project known as CASA.

At that time, Caire wrote that the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec’s IT project had been over budget and behind schedule “for a long time.”

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He told the commission that he knew there were cost overruns but he was unaware of the extent of them.

Caire stepped down as minister in February after an explosive report by the province’s auditor general revealed cost overruns of at least $500 million in the creation of the online platform, for a total cost of more than $1.1 billion.

Premier François Legault is expected to testify at the inquiry next week.