Quebec looks to hit pause on SAAQ’s facial recognition project

Quebec’s Transport Minister, Geneviève Guilbault has asked the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) to suspend a new facial recognition project “until further notice,” following the chaotic rollout of its online portal.

SAAQ had recently undergone a digital transformation with the launch of SAAQclic, an online portal aimed at simplifying transactions such as license renewal, registration payments, and exam reservations. However, the project encountered severe issues with server overload, resulting in massive backlogs and long lines at service centres for weeks.

Citing these troubles, Guilbault took to Twitter to air her concerns about SAAQ implementing a new project amid ongoing service delays related to the SAAQclic platform.

“Modernizing public services is desirable, but given the challenges currently facing the @SAAQ, I have asked management to suspend all activities related to the implementation of a facial recognition solution until further notice,” she wrote in a tweet posted Tuesday.

The minister also sent a letter to SAAQ CEO Denis Marsolais conveying this request, according to a report by CTV News Montreal.