Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) is looking to hire a consultant to oversee a $290 million project aimed at moving its auto insurance services online.
This new consultant will provide MPI with “expert advice and coaching that will result in measurable gain,” according to a tender obtained by the Winnipeg Free Press, as the Crown corporation works to deliver its project on time and within budget.
MPI’s modernization push, referred to as Project Nova, has seen its budget increase from $86 million since it was first announced in 2019.
An initial three-year implementation timeline would have seen the initiative completed by April this year. However, MPI had extended this to the fiscal year 2025-2026, with CEO Eric Herbelin stating that the original plan “was not realistic and not reasonable for a number of reasons.”
“MPI never had the chance to tackle such [a] large project and was not ready to deliver at the pace needed,” Herbelin said last December.
Project Nova will allow customers to make collision claims, process license renewals, and receive other basic services online. The first phase was implemented this January, enabling the transition of MPI’s Special Risk Extension business line from a paper-based to a system-based solution.
“This is just the beginning – the first planned phase for Project Nova, which will ultimately improve customer experience and introduce new online service options for Manitobans,” Herbelin said of the launch. “We are committed to delivering Project Nova on time and on budget and are confident in our approach to achieve our objectives.”
The Public Utilities Board (PUB), Manitoba’s consumer watchdog, recently ordered additional oversight for Project Nova as it voiced concerns over the corporation’s “apparent lack of management” over its IT expenses.
“The corporation should be proceeding with prudence and focusing on critical business needs while avoiding cost overruns associated with increasing the scope of Project Nova beyond the core need to modernize technologies to run the business,” the PUB said, as cited by the Winnipeg Free Press.
MPI’s request for proposals for program governance and risk advisory services was tabled by the Opposition NDP during question period in the Manitoba legislature on Monday, according to a report by CBC News.
“This project is clearly out of control and it’s only getting worse,” said NDP leader Wab Kinew. “There’s been no evidence that this government is anywhere close to delivering that, but still they’re going to spend millions more on this coaching.”
Matt Wiebe, MLA for Concordia and NDP’s critic for justice and the MPI, also referred to the project as a “boondoggle” that is costing Manitoba ratepayers.
“We have a lot of concerns about how the project has been rolled out, but ultimately it’s about trust and it’s about the fact that this government has mishandled this every step along the way,” he said.
Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen recently instructed MPI to use a competitive process to source all goods or services, along with requiring ministerial approval for direct awards and sole-source contracts worth over $50,000.
“As recently as last week it’s been reiterated that there are no additional funds that are going to be made available for this project,” Goertzen told the Free Press.
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