Quebec Premier Replaces Cybersecurity Minister Amidst SAAQclic Scandal

Following a scandal involving the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec's (SAAQ) online platform, SAAQclic, Quebec Premier François Legault replaced his cybersecurity and digital technology minister, Éric Caire.

Caire's resignation came after a report by the province's auditor general revealed cost overruns of at least $500 million in the creation of SAAQclic. The report also found that SAAQ executives chose to mask $222 million in cost overruns to avoid public scrutiny.

Legault named backbencher Gilles Bélanger as Caire's replacement. Bélanger, first elected in 2018, has experience in both legislature and finance. He was responsible for the deployment of high-speed internet in rural areas after the Coalition Avenir Québec won its first mandate in 2018.

Caire resigned on Thursday, stating that he had "nothing to reproach myself for, apart from not having been suspicious enough." However, he also acknowledged that he had become a distraction to the government.

Legault called Caire's decision to resign "honourable" and said his government would "get to the bottom of it." He also stated that there would be "zero tolerance" for any wrongdoing.

Opposition parties, however, are calling for a public inquiry into how the platform's cost ballooned to more than $1.1 billion. They also question the involvement of Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault and her predecessor François Bonnardel, who both held the transport portfolio during the period of cost overruns. Both ministers claim they were unaware of the extent of the online platform's problems and that information was kept from them.

Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon believes corruption may have played a role in the exorbitant costs and that the government was likely being overcharged in the platform's "disastrous deployment.