The final report of the Gallant Commission on the failures of the digital transformation of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) is expected in early 2026. Some fear that it will end up shelved and cause no change. However, various stakeholders point out that past public commissions of inquiry have shown that the exercise is far from futile.
By Feb. 13, Commissioner Denis Gallant must submit his findings and recommendations to the Legault government in order to avoid another SAAQclic “fiasco.” The implementation of these recommendations may depend in part on the willingness of politicians.
The experience of previous public commissions of inquiry in Quebec shows a tendency to follow up on the proposed measures.
“I think that since the last commissions (…) there is no longer complete shelving (of reports) as was the case before. Because the hearings were public, people heard the evidence. So they expect something to come of it,” says Martine Valois, law professor at Université de Montréal.
Valois is currently legal counsel for the Gallant Commission. She also worked for the Bastarache Commission on the judicial appointment process and was a member of a committee monitoring the recommendations of the Charbonneau Commission on the construction industry.
In the latter two cases, there have been significant legislative changes, she notes.
Others have also had this effect. Valois points to the work of one of her former master’s students on the impact of commission recommendations on Quebec legislation. In his thesis presented in 2019, Axel Fournier analyzed those relating to ethics and integrity of the state over a period of nearly 150 years.
He concluded that “the recommendations of these commissions have inspired some 40 laws in Quebec.”
“In this sense, we have been able to demonstrate that commissions of inquiry are more than just a public relations exercise,” writes Fournier. However, he adds that 40 laws is still a small number compared to everything that can be voted on during a year in the National Assembly.
Public pressure and media coverage remain important in preventing a report from being shelved. “When the issue is prominent in public opinion, it pays for governments to implement the recommendations,” says Denis Saint-Martin, political science professor at Université de Montréal.
For legal advisor Michel Décary, there is no doubt that “the Quebec public has benefited greatly” from commissions of inquiry.
He was chief prosecutor on the Johnson Commission tasked with investigating the collapse of the Concorde Viaduct in Laval in 2006. This work highlighted the aging of the road network and prompted the government to launch a major investment program, says the man, who has been involved in several other commissions of inquiry during his career.
“Many commissions of inquiry have in common that they have exposed problems in the functioning of public institutions and proposed solutions. (…) And generally, they have all had beneficial effects. As a result, in Quebec, we can say that we benefit from legislative measures and systems that are truly among the most advanced in the world,” said Décary, citing in particular the issue of political party financing.
Professor of public law Nicholas Jobidon, at the École nationale d’administration publique, also believes there is a “correlation” between the holding of commissions of inquiry and the adoption of stricter rules on public contracts in Quebec.
“I don’t know which came first, the chicken or the egg. (…) Among suppliers in Canada, Quebec has a reputation for having the most advanced, complex, and elaborate rules. And in my opinion, this is largely due to our habit of bringing these practices to light on a regular basis,” he says.
Example of Charbonneau Commission
The commission on the awarding and management of public contracts in the construction industry, chaired by former judge France Charbonneau, has contributed significantly to changing practices.
Ten years ago, she and commissioner Renaud Lachance submitted their report.
In 2018, nearly 70 per cent of the Charbonneau Commission’s recommendations had been partially or fully implemented, according to the latest analysis by the monitoring committee. One of the key measures is the creation of the Autorité des marchés publics, responsible for overseeing the awarding of contracts at the provincial and municipal levels.
Lachance, now a professor in the accounting department at HEC Montréal, notes that through its public hearings and recommendations, the Charbonneau Commission has also brought about a cultural change among engineers, suppliers, and contractors.
“What I have read and heard is that, in the construction industry, there has clearly been a significant impact on organizational culture, with a greater number of bidders for public contracts, especially at the municipal level,” said the former Auditor General of Quebec from 2004 to 2011 in an interview.
Before Charbonneau, other commissions concerning the construction industry and public contracts, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s, helped to change practices. The Malouf, Cliche, and Salvas commissions are among them.
Décary asserts that this exercise will likely need to be repeated periodically. “Because the environment adapts. There are new rules, and inevitably, people look for ways to circumvent them. And that obviously leads to abuse,” says the lawyer.
In its report, the Charbonneau Commission pointed out that “when it comes to corruption and collusion, creativity prevails.”
“It would therefore be illusory to think that these phenomena can be eradicated forever. Issues evolve, and each commission strives to diagnose the phenomena of its time,” wrote the two commissioners.
On the social front, other types of commissions have also had a significant impact. Saint-Martin cites the commission on education (Parent), which led to the creation of CEGEPs, and the commission on children’s rights (Laurent), which resulted in the hiring of the first commissioner for child welfare and rights in 2025.
Reforming the law
Despite these positive results, the Act respecting commissions of inquiry, which dates back to 1869, needs “in-depth reform,” argues Valois.
“We need to give this law some teeth. It doesn’t have any because, essentially, the important provisions haven’t changed in 160 years,” says Valois, who has published a book on the subject.
She suggests various changes, including one aimed at improving follow-up on recommendations. The professor proposes giving the Ombudsman responsibility for monitoring this process. The Ombudsman would periodically submit a report to the National Assembly on the measures taken by the government following a commission inquiry.
Given the powers already conferred on the Ombudsman by law with regard to recommendations, granting it this authority with respect to commissions is “almost natural,” according to Valois.
The Ombudsman is currently mandated to evaluate and monitor the implementation of the Viens Commission’s calls to action on relations between Indigenous peoples and certain public services in Quebec.
Lachance also believes in the need for “a more organized monitoring structure” to strengthen the implementation of recommendations. In his view, this role could instead fall to the National Assembly’s Public Administration Committee, where parliamentarians could debate the measures.
“This is a non-partisan commission. It would therefore provide an objective analysis of the recommendations,” which are sometimes political in nature, argues Lachance.
Valois also proposes enhancing the powers of commissioners, particularly with regard to the seizure of documents. She also deplores the often overly short deadlines given to commissions to complete their work, forcing them to systematically request extensions. This situation can hinder the search for truth and the development of recommendations, says the professor.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
