The former head of digital transformation at Quebec’s auto insurance board, Karl Malenfant, has launched a legal challenge seeking to quash a critical report detailing the disastrous rollout of the SAAQclic project. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Superior Court, alleges the report contains findings based on “unreasonable inferences.”
Malenfant argues that several conclusions reached by Commissioner Denis Gallant are flawed and undermine the entire basis of the report, according to a 42-page filing. The SAAQclic project, a digital overhaul of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), was plagued by delays and cost overruns, drawing significant public and political scrutiny.
“As these findings form the very foundation of the commissioner’s reasoning, their invalidation necessarily leads to the collapse of the report’s entire logic,” the lawsuit states. The legal action underscores the high stakes surrounding the inquiry into the failed digital transformation, which has grow a major political issue in the province.
The Gallant Commission’s report, released in February, concluded that top officials at the SAAQ had misrepresented the progress of the digital transformation project for years. The report detailed years of misleading statements about the CASA program, of which Malenfant was the director.
Malenfant is also contesting the commission’s decision to deny him participant status in the proceedings. He alleges that Commissioner Gallant exceeded his authority
by adding criteria to the commission’s rules specifically to prevent his participation. Participant status would have allowed Malenfant to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses.
According to the lawsuit, the commissioner ruled in July 2025 that participant status was unnecessary, as Malenfant would have the opportunity to testify later – an opportunity he ultimately took advantage of over six days in September. This testimony was the longest hearing held during the commission’s inquiry.
Karl Malenfant, during a press conference on February 11.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Ivanoh Demers
Malenfant is represented by Jean-François Bertrand. The commission is now dissolved, and the Quebec Attorney General will now handle the case, according to spokesperson Joanne Marceau.
The lawsuit also challenges the commission’s refusal to admit a second sworn statement submitted by Malenfant in January, after he received a notice of improper conduct
prior to the report’s release. He had previously submitted a sworn statement after his testimony, which was accepted as evidence. The second statement, a 112-page document, was deemed by the commission to be inadmissible.
“The applicant […] believed he could finally respond to concrete elements rather than the scattered and targeted questions posed by the Commission’s counsel during [his] public testimony,” the lawsuit states. Malenfant presented this document, along with a presentation titled The Eight Pillars of Truth
, to journalists in February.
During that presentation, the former vice-president of information technology and project director alleged he was the victim of a character assassination
orchestrated by an unnamed IT firm and public relations company. The legal challenge adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing fallout from the SAAQclic debacle, which has raised questions about government oversight of large-scale IT projects.
