The Manitoba Public Insurance building in downtown Winnipeg. (CHRISD.CA FILE)
WINNIPEG — Manitoba Public Insurance is putting its troubled Project Nova in the rearview mirror and accelerating forward.
The Crown corporation announced on Thursday that it is shifting to a more flexible, phased approach to modernize its aging technology systems. The decision follows a comprehensive internal review and assessment of the corporation’s IT needs.
The cost of Project Nova was recently pegged at $435 million, nearly four times more than originally quoted. When the project was first pitched in 2020, the budget was $107 million.
“Simply put, it was determined that staying on the current path would not be responsible, nor in the best interest of Manitobans,” said Satvir Jatana, president and CEO of MPI.
“The program was not structured for success, and we have done the work to understand why. That said, the need to replace the aging technology that supports Manitoba’s public auto insurance model still exists. We are taking a more pragmatic approach to this work, modelled after industry best practice and with regular reporting intervals built in to ensure we remain accountable to Manitobans.”
MPI will replace legacy systems through a series of smaller, stand-alone projects with timelines of 12 to 24 months.
Governance of the new approach will include internal oversight, board-level visibility through the technology committee, and input from an independent third party.
The corporation will also cooperate with a review of Project Nova by the Auditor General, requested by the province on June 4.
