Inquiry report on scandal at Quebec auto insurance board to be released Feb. 16

QUÉBEC — The commissioner who oversaw the public inquiry into the $500-million cost-overrun scandal at Quebec’s auto insurance board is scheduled to release his report publicly on Feb. 16.

Judge Denis Gallant presided over 75 days of hearings in 2025 into how costs soared when the auto board was launching a new a digital platform.

More than 130 witnesses testified including Premier François Legault, who said he had been kept in the dark about the cost overruns and laid most of the blame on the leaders of the state-run corporation.

Legault launched the inquiry shortly after the auditor general revealed the digital project was expected to cost taxpayers at least $1.1 billion by 2027 — $500 million more than originally planned.

The auditor’s report followed the botched rollout in 2023 of the platform, which led to major delays and long lineups at insurance board branches, where Quebecers take road tests, register vehicles and access other services.

In his closing statement at the end of the hearings, Gallant assured Quebecers that “every stone” had been turned over during his investigation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 9, 2026.

The Canadian Press