Quebec replaces digital technology minister who resigned over auto board scandal

By Canadian Press on February 28, 2025.

QUÉBEC — Quebec’s premier has replaced his cybersecurity and digital technology minister after a scandal with the auto insurance board’s online platform forced the resignation of Éric Caire.

Premier François Legault today named backbencher Gilles Bélanger as Caire’s replacement, after an explosive report last week revealed cost overruns of at least $500 million in the creation of the online platform.

Bélanger, first elected in the Orford riding in 2018, has been legislature assistant to Legault and to the finance minister, and was notably responsible for the deployment of high-speed internet in rural areas.

Caire resigned on Thursday, saying he had become a distraction to the government but maintaining that he had been kept in the dark about the cost overruns.

Legault says his government wants to get to the bottom of what happened and calls Caire’s decision to resign “honourable.”

However, opposition parties aren’t quelled by the resignation, and are calling for a public inquiry into how the platform’s cost ballooned to more than $1.1 billion.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2025.

Caroline Plante, The Canadian Press