Commission Witness Faces Controversy from Superior Authority at SAAQ

A whistleblower from the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) claimed to have uncovered numerous dodgy dealings within the company, sparking a cold shoulder from her superior officers as they await her inquiry before the SAAQclic commission.

On Tuesday, internal verification adviser Nadia Brière, with a quavering voice and clear as day, recounted a taut situation that occurred on June 9, six days before her hearing with the commission. At that time, she was holding a damning report on the current and former management of contracts at the SAAQ, a document she submitted back in February. General director of internal audit and program evaluation, François Sauvageau, assured her that senior management was on board with everything in the report.

As Mme Brière's scheduled testimony before the commission on the digital shift of the SAAQ approached, things changed course. When she met with the commission team on June 9, Nadia Brière found out about a chart, she declared. This chart, curated by her supervisors at the SAAQ, contested her conclusions.

Her immediate superior, the head of internal audit, Javier Bentancur, then informed her that Mr. Sauvageau was trying to figure out if he could still converse with his employee. To proceed, he had to obtain consent from the SAAQ's lawyers, as reported by Mme Brière. Since that fateful day of June 9, they remained tight-lipped. "I haven't spoken to him, nor to my head of service either," the SAAQ employee stated emphatically.

Her report has yet to be presented to the SAAQ's Active-Passive, Risks and Audit Committee, with plans to present it in September. "So, seven months after it was submitted," chief prosecutor Simon Tremblay pointed out.

Brière broke down in tears as she concluded her testimony. "The digital transformation has been a brutal experience for employees," she said, "put under immense pressure."

"I don't know if we would be here if our concerns had been taken seriously," she added, alluding to a covert code of silence imposed on employees who warned about SAAQ's practices.

Contractual Misconduct Exposed

Throughout the day, Mme Brière explained the five findings she made in this audit report, which focuses on the contract management process at the SAAQ over a 10-year timespan.

Primary issues uncovered included blurry needs definitions and the common occurrence of overtime. In one instance, the SAAQ issued a call for tenders in January 2022 for a senior advisor expected to work 600 hours over three years. Seven months later, they increased the request to add 1,575 hours to the contract, effectively doubling the estimated hours.

Additionally, SAAQ contract needs often opened the door for amendments, which permitted modifications to contracts. At one point, a contract was "resurrected" via an amendment, as Mme Brière put it. "The rubber band was stretched with amendments," she continued, demonstrating the ease at which contracts were modified.

The report produced by Brière was revised at the behest of her superiors, who requested an "executive report" and softened certain terminology.

A Closed-Off Boss

In the afternoon, Brière returned to a meeting that took place on January 24, 2024 between the verification team and the SAAQ's top boss, Éric Ducharme, who was appointed by the Legault government in 2023 to straighten things out at the SAAQ.

Much like her former colleague Marie-Line Lalonde, Brière claimed she felt no welcome from Mr. Ducharme, in the presence of whom the auditors were brandishing red flags. "He asked me two questions: 'What does contract management look like?', and I replied 'it's not pretty', then 'Since I've been in office, have you seen a difference or is it still the same?' I replied yes [it's still the same], and I had examples in mind. But Mr. Ducharme never asked me to elaborate," she expressed her disappointment.

Ducharme was "closed off" with his arms crossed, she described. "That meeting was a turning point for my whole team. We realized things wouldn't change," she stated.

To return to this meeting and others, one of the SAAQ's lawyers presented a request on Monday for Mr. Ducharme to offer his viewpoint before the commission was denied by Judge Denis Gallant, who is presiding over the inquiry.

The whistleblower's report, focusing on the contract management process at the SAAQ over a decade, revealed primary issues such as vague needs definitions, frequent overtime, and a lax policy that allowed for numerous contract modifications.
The general news about the SAAQ inquiry has shed light on the political implications of war-and-conflicts within the organization, including a covert code of silence imposed on employees who warned about its practices and a closed-off boss who refused to engage in meaningful discussions about the issues at hand.
Policy-and-legislation and crime-and-justice are likely to play a significant role in the ongoing SAAQ inquiry, as the whistleblower's damning report has led to numerous questions about contractual misconduct, and the inquiry commission's proceedings may ultimately shape the future of the company.