A major breakdown has been touching the computer system of the Quebec Automobile Insurance Company (SAAQ) since Tuesday afternoon, disturbing several services at the counter and online.
The problem compromises the activities of Saaq in the whole of Quebec and affects certain services to users:
- Theoretical driving exams are canceled;
- driving licenses or registration certificates cannot be issued, whether in service centers or online;
- Road controllers have no possibility of checking registrations, driving licenses and other documents due to the breakdown.
The Saaq Ensures that the practical driving exams, scheduled on the road on Wednesday, are maintained.
There are servers that support these services and they are currently broken down
explained the spokesperson for the SaaqGino Desrosiers, on the program first the infoon here RDI.
In cases where a customer already has what it takes in hand to renew his driving license or his registration certificate, for example, he can do so through his financial institution, explains Mr. Desrosiers.
The failure prevents access to the SAAQCLIC solution, even if it is functional
explains the Saaq in a press release.
The service points of the Saaq are closed Wednesday.
New appointments “as soon as possible”
Mr. Desrosiers claims that the teams of Saaq worked for night, with those of Microsoft, to try to correct the situation.
Customers who had an appointment at the Saaq will be contacted by the latter, it is said, in order to Offer an appointment as soon as possible
. The Saaq Could even decide to offer appointments outside the normal opening hours of branches, added the spokesperson.
The organization ensures that this problem did not have the effect of touching customer data.
The reasons explaining this breakdown are not known at the moment.
The government is showing Microsoft finger
In the National Assembly on Wednesday, the Minister of Cybersecurity and Digital, Gilles Bélanger, explained that the computer problem at the Saaq Wednesday had Nothing to do with the Saaqclic digital platform
.
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Gilles Bélanger, Minister of Cybersecurity and Digital, in the Government of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), attributes the responsibility for Wednesday failure to Microsoft.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Sylvain Roy Roussel
It’s at Microsoft
he said, Microsoft Azure hosts
The platform.
Any service break is unacceptable
said Bélanger during the Question period in the National Assembly. The Minister assured being In control of the situation
And be in constant communication with Microsoft about this problem.
Exchanges in parliamentary committee
In parliamentary committee on Wednesday, the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, spoke of a Supra failure at Microsoft
Who exceeds the Saaq and which exceeds a single computer system
.
Minister Guilbault recalled that she was not not satisfied with the quality of the services that are rendered to citizens
to the Saaq, Although it improves
.
I take all the means at my disposal to strengthen the supervision around this state -owned company [la SAAQ].
During this study of credits in parliamentary committee, the liberal deputy Monsef Derraji asked if there were Saaq A functional succession site
which takes over in the event of a breakdown.
The twelve Microsoft servers have stopped and we work as a team [avec Microsoft]
replied the CEO of the SaaqÉric Ducharme.
The breakdown is not normal, we are sorry and apologize to all customers.
The opposition denounces the situation
While the deputy Derraji qualified the situation at the Saaq of open bar
In matters of government spending, the acting chief of the official opposition, Marc Tanguay, called the Legault government and in particular Minister Guilbault to take responsibility, especially after the problems having touched Saaqclic.
It’s a fiasco!
We are not surprised and it is very embarrassing for the government
said Pascal Paradis, of the Parti Québécois (PQ).
It has a lot of impact on citizens, who had no access to the SAAQ services.
In Québec Solidaire (QS), Guillaume Cliche-Rivard added that Quebecers and Quebecers have surpassed hundreds of millions for a project [SAAQclic] which, probably, does not provide the goods
. And they haven’t finished paying
he warned.
We still don’t know who was responsible for fiasco [de SAAQclic].
The digital platform of Saaq is the first step in the digital transformation that awaits Quebec, he points out. For this reason, it is necessary Learn errors
De Saaqclic, according to him.
Mr. Cliche-Rivard recalled that the government of the CAQ had refused to open an investigation into all the government’s computer contracts.
Not the first time …
In Mai 2024, the Saaq had been struck by an important computer failure, caused by a break of equipment.
The automotive insurance company has often made the headlines due to the failures in the establishment of its IT platform Saaqclic, in February 2023.
A commission of inquiry was set up by Quebec after an overwhelming report by the general auditor concerning the failure of the transition from the services of the Saaq towards its unique digital platform.
The platform, the cost of which had been estimated at $ 638 million, will finally cost a total of 1.1 billion. A situation that the general auditor also denounced.
With the information of Eric Plouffe, Mathieu Papillon and Jérôme Labbé
With Canadian press information
