Personalized assistance on offer to register for SAAQclic in 7 branches

Seven service centres of the Quebec's auto insurance board (Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec - SAAQ) are now offering a simplified accompaniment service to help Quebecers create an account for the Government Authentication Service (GAS).

This should simplify their access to SAAQclic.

The points of service of the crown corporation located at Carrefour Langelier, in Montreal, in Gatineau, Laval, Longueuil, Drummondville, Saguenay, and in the sector Lebourgneuf, in Quebec, were retained to implement this service of accompaniment intended for the customers having trouble with the internet, Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault said Monday along with her colleague responsible for Cybersecurity and Digital Éric Caire.

"It's a big challenge, managing change, adapting to new systems," said Guilbault. "There are people who, for all sorts of reasons, are less comfortable with the internet and who do not have access to the internet. We are aware that for some people, it is a bigger challenge than for others, so we are going with common sense."

As the in-branch identity check is done in the presence of a member of staff, the customer only needs to present two pieces of photo ID, a health insurance card and a driving licence. A birth certificate or passport is also accepted.

Customers who create their account online are required to provide four official documents.

If the experiment proves successful, the accompanying service could be deployed in other SAAQ branches, Guilbault said at a news conference.

However, Caire said that not all SAAQ service points meet the security requirements for client authentication.

Currently, around 116,000 Quebecers have created their online transactional account.

Guilbault has also asked that the average waiting time at each point of service be posted online on the SAAQ website so that SAAQ clients can choose where to go to receive services. This should be in place by Tuesday, while the necessary information is gathered, she added.

DIGITAL SHIFT UNAVOIDABLE

Guilbault reiterated the essential nature of the digital transition of government services, which will all revolve around the GIS.

"We can't laugh at the government with its faxes and wonder why we are making this digital shift," she said. "We must have modern, efficient and forward-looking government online services."

Caire said the operation would be carried out with data security as a priority.

"The SAG will eventually be used by all digital services in government," he said. "We don't want Mary Poppins or Luke Skywalker to be able to open a SAG account or for someone to impersonate a citizen and then open an account in his or her name and make transactions in his or her name."

Caire also said that no incidents compromising data security have been reported to him since the service was implemented and that only 57 complaints have been received regarding the complexity of registration.

The La Peltrie MNA did, however, apologize for the fact that the need to create a SAG account in order to benefit from government services was poorly explained to the population.

"Have we communicated this enough, informed the population? The answer is no, clearly not," he admitted. "Could we have done better? Absolutely. That's where my responsibility lies. Now we're in the process of finding solutions."

GRACE PERIOD FOR TRUCKERS

Truckers worried about not being able to renew their registrations before the March 31 deadline will benefit from a grace period, Guilbault announced as she signed a ministerial order to extend the deadline to June 12.

"There is no need to stress anymore. People will have time to renew their registration in time. No one is going to be hurt because of the slowdown at certain service points," the transport minister said.

At present, only nine SAAQ branches offer the service to truckers.

"There are just over 5,000 drivers affected by the measure, but some can already do so online," she said. "Under no circumstances will I accept that a trucker is prevented from working because of an appointment delay or an inability to make an appointment, although they are prioritized, as are taxi drivers."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 13, 2023.