Santé Québec IT project costs surge from $96M to $1B

The projected cost of Santé Québec’s Finance and Procurement Information System (SIFA) has reportedly surged from an initial estimate of $96 million to approximately $1 billion. This massive increase follows reports that the provincial government allocated an additional $900 million to the digital transformation project, despite internal warnings from officials and experts.

Confidential executive reports from the Ministry of Cybersecurity and Digital Affairs, alongside assessments from KPMG and MNP, highlighted severe flaws and significant concerns regarding the project. The contract for the system is held by LGS, a subsidiary of IBM, which was also involved in the previous SAAQclic digital project failure.

The Parti Québécois (PQ) has responded by promising to audit all ongoing provincial IT projects. The party criticized the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government for mismanagement of public funds, citing previous cost overruns in the Digital Health Record and SAAQclic projects. The SCFP-Québec union has also condemned the decision to proceed with the SIFA project, arguing that the government ignored expert recommendations and failed to manage taxpayer money responsibly.