By Murray Sherriffs
Quebec’s Ministry of Cybersecurity and Digital Technology and two accounting firms—KPMG and MNP—say that Christine Fréchette’s government ignored an analysis that estimated a major Santé Québec IT project—SIFA—could cost $1 billion, not the $96 million projected.
Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard says that “…this is 100 per cent Mrs. Fréchette’s decision.”
“They went again and again, like they did with SAAQclic, against recommendations they had from consultants they paid, then they’re saying, ‘no, thank you,’let’s go burn some money.”
Québec Solidaire says hat that Fréchette “should be ashamed, it’s her responsibility; a lot of people inside of the Ministry of Digital Technology told her to be careful, and she didn’t listen, she decided to go forward, and it’s Quebecers paying for that.”
Conservative party leader Éric Duhaime says that, like “all taxpayers,” he is outraged by “another fiasco, another SAAQclic. It’s even worse than SAAQclic.”
Paul Brunet, Chair of the Council for the Protection of Patients, says that the ballooning cost is ”catastrophic; as premier, she probably trusted people she shouldn’t have. We have problems having access to home care, a CHSLD and in hospitals, we have problems of better care, we cut the private agencies to save money, then we see this kind of behaviour.”
