
Quebec government ‘reassigns' head of auto insurance board amid SAAQclic scandal
Éric Ducharme's dismissal from the top job was confirmed by a government source who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Ducharme was appointed to the position in April 2023 to restore order at the auto board, which has been in crisis since the disastrous rollout of its new online platform.
Get daily National news
Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
He is being dismissed in the middle of a public inquiry announced last spring after Quebec's auditor general revealed cost overruns of at least $500 million in the creation of the platform.
Quebec's anticorruption squad conducted a search of the auto board's head office in June.
Premier François Legault has refused to publicly reiterate his confidence in Ducharme in recent months, but had suggested he would wait for the report from the public inquiry before taking any action.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Global News
7 hours ago
- Global News
B.C. border store says impact of what Trump says felt ‘right away'
On a sunny Friday afternoon, four customers were browsing the shelves in West Coast Duty Free at the Pacific Highway border crossing. 'We should have 40 or 50 customers,' Gary Holowaychuk, one of the owners told Global News. 'We are down 70 per cent to 80 per cent from where we should be. And it's just very slowly, slowly getting better. I'm laying off staff, I am trying to keep the staff I have working, but it's very, very difficult.' Holowaychuk said that while the sun is shining, it is 'pretty dismal' for the business. He said in January and February, sales were up 30 to 40 per cent from 2024. 'March rolled around, we dropped about 25 per cent and thereafter we've seen the traffic dropping that 45 to 55 per cent. So you add that to the down from where we were with COVID, we're down 70 or 80 per cent.' Story continues below advertisement 2:01 Impact of Trump's latest tariffs threats on B.C. businesses Holowaychuk is hopeful July and August will be better with summer travel, but even on Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he will impose a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian goods on Aug. 1. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'It's like another gut punch, every, almost every time he opens up and says anything, we notice it right away,' Holowaychuk said. 'We're like, we're on the front line. We were the first hit when he got office, we were the deepest hit, much like COVID when they closed the borders. We were the first and the hardest hit.' New data from Statistics Canada, released on Friday, showed cross-border travel is still in steep decline. 2:15 Washington State border towns beg Canadians to come back The number of Canadians crossing the border by car in June was down 33 per cent, compared to the same month in 2024. Story continues below advertisement Holowaychuk said they are hoping the federal government will step in and help. 'We've got some small requests for them to help us be more competitive,' he said. 'We're looking for some little legislative changes. We are looking for anything that they can do to help us weather this storm. We've got a number of border stores that are on the verge of closing. They don't have a good summer, they won't make it through the next winter.' Holowaychuk said last month alone, they lost $100,000. He's hopeful that will not continue to be the case. The Ministry of Finance told Global News it will not hesitate to bring forward measures to support workers and businesses but it would not provide specifics.


Global News
9 hours ago
- Global News
B.C. restaurateur raises concerns with province's Racist Incident Helpline
A Victoria businessman is raising concerns after his conversation with the province's Racist Incident Helpline. Solomon Siegel was at Victoria's Pride Parade last week and says he saw a booth selling a shirt with the word 'intifada' on it. The Arabic word means a rebellion or uprising. He described the shirt as having pictures of children on it with a Palestinian flag and an anti-zionist phrase. When Siegel, the owner of the well-known Victoria restaurant Pagliacci's, got home, he said he called the newly established hotline but said he became angry with what he heard from the person on the other end of the phone. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Immediately, the person said intifada means struggle and there is a genocide going on, and I said, 'Excuse me, you understand the history of these words,'' Siegel told Global News. Story continues below advertisement 1:23 B.C. legislation introduced to address systemic racism The Racist Incident Helpline is funded by the provincial government but administered by the United Way. The parliamentary secretary for racism in B.C. said she called Siegel and apologized. 'It is not for the hotline to judge, they are there to provide supports,' Jessie Sunner said. 'It (is) something that should have happened and didn't.' The booth with the t-shirt was run by an independent vendor. 'We have generally accepted we allow these marginal groups to define their racism and on an anti racism hotline, as a Jewish person, I was not afforded that,' Siegel said. Sunner said the province is now ensuring the United Way will be adding additional staff training following this incident.


Global News
10 hours ago
- Global News
Residents take City of Calgary to court over rezoning of former Viscount Bennett site
A group of residents in the southwest communities of Richmond and Knob Hill are taking the City of Calgary to court over a council decision to change the zoning of the former Viscount Bennett school site to make way for a high-density development. On April 8, city council voted 9-5 in favour of rezoning the former school site along Crowchild Trail between 26 Avenue and 33 Avenue S.W. Now, a group called Neighbours for Richmond and Knob Hill hope to challenge that decision, seeking a judicial review. 'The basis is that council failed to comply with steps and procedures as outlined as part of the Municipal Government Act,' said Lucia Rossini-Lake, one of the members of Neighbours for Richmond and Knob Hill. The group claims city council made its decision, following a public hearing, without recent traffic data or studies on area infrastructure. Story continues below advertisement 'We know there's going to be development, it just has to be reasonable,' said Storm Purdy, another member of the group. 'If you're going to plunk something down, you want to make sure that the pipes work and make sure that the traffic flows before you actually build anything.' The proposed development's impact on traffic has been a significant concern for those living in the area throughout the process. Stephanie Howard, who has lived in Richmond since 1996, noted she often has to warn other drivers to slow down through the neighbourhood. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'I think the traffic will increase exponentially, which is really unfortunate,' she told Global News. 'I don't think the streets have the capacity for that.' 2:05 Activists protest outside Calgary courts hoping to stop fluoridization of drinking water Council's approval of the rezoning for the site came with several conditions including infrastructure upgrades, improvements to three intersections in the area, and more than $1 million to build a new bus rapid transit stop along Crowchild Trail. Story continues below advertisement While taking questions after the decision in April, Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott said people's habits 'take time to shift.' 'People have to see the bus, they have to know that it's accessible, they have to know that it's safe and know the timelines,' he said at the time. 'That stuff will come.' Minto Communities purchased the property from the Calgary Board of Education in 2023. The development proposal includes eight buildings, mostly between four and six storeys tall, as well as a trio of 16-storey towers along Crowchild Trail that could accommodate up to 1,509 units. However, planning documents show the building heights were scaled back from a maximum of 30 storeys in the original proposal, and the amount of anticipated units dropped from 2,503 to just 1,231 units in the updated plan. A development permit application for one of the buildings on the southeast corner of the site is currently under review, according to the City of Calgary's development map According to Purdy, residents would prefer if the development remained within the guidelines in the Local Area Plan of 400 units per hectare. 'The scaled back version is obviously a scaled back version, but it's still too big,' Purdy said. 'It's not appropriate for this community.' Story continues below advertisement Both the City of Calgary and Minto Communities declined a request for comment from Global News as the matter is before the courts. An initial court date to hear the residents' application has been set for July 23.