The public inquiry into the SAAQclic scandal is on hiatus for most of the summer after stunning testimony about cost overruns, ignored warnings and management failures related to the botched rollout of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec’s new digital platform.

More potentially explosive testimony is expected once the Gallant Commission resumes later in August, especially when cabinet ministers take the stand to explain what they knew and when.

But even as the government of Premier François Legault braces for political fallout from the $1.1-billion cost of SAAQclic — double the original estimate — a new digital debacle may be brewing, this time involving Santé Québec.

The agency created to run the health system is trying to launch a new IT project called Système d’information des finances, de l’approvisionnement et des ressources humaines, a.k.a. SIFARH, to merge financial, procurement and human resources networks.

According to an investigation by Radio-Canada, the price tag for SIFARH, which uses some of the same contractors as SAAQclic, has doubled to more than $400 million for its two phases.

Radio-Canada also revealed that Gilles Bélanger, Quebec’s new minister for cybersecurity and digital transformation, is now leaning on Santé Québec to cancel the project. But so far, the health agency........

© Montreal Gazette