A major outage affecting the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) has disrupted various services across Quebec since Tuesday afternoon, May 6, 2025. The issue, which began around 3 p.m., has caused service centers and partner locations to close, while practical driving exams scheduled for Wednesday, May 7, 2025, will still proceed as planned. However, theoretical exams and other appointments have been canceled, leaving many clients frustrated.
SAAQ spokesperson Gino Desrosiers explained the situation during an interview on RDI, stating that the outage is linked to several servers crucial for maintaining core services, including the much-criticized SAAQclic platform. Although SAAQclic remains functional, access to it is currently blocked due to the broader outage. Desrosiers assured that no customer data has been compromised and that clients who already possess the necessary documents for renewing their licenses or registration can still do so through their financial institutions.
Efforts to resolve the situation are underway, with SAAQ teams working tirelessly alongside Microsoft. Desrosiers noted that clients with appointments will be contacted to reschedule in the coming days, and the SAAQ may even offer appointments outside of normal business hours to minimize disruptions.
Minister of Cybersecurity and Digital Technology, Gilles Bélanger, attributed the outage to Microsoft Azure, which hosts the SAAQclic platform. He clarified that the problem is not related to the SAAQclic platform itself but rather to issues with the servers that support it. "I totally agree it's not acceptable, but it's not SAAQclic. It's Microsoft's issue and I'm following the situation very closely," Bélanger stated during a press conference.
The opposition parties in Quebec have reacted strongly to the ongoing issues at the SAAQ. Marc Tanguay, the interim leader of the Liberal Party, called the situation a fiasco and urged the government, particularly Minister Geneviève Guilbault, to take responsibility. Pascal Paradis from the Parti québécois echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the embarrassment the government faces due to the outage and its impact on citizens who rely on SAAQ services. Guillaume Cliche-Rivard from Québec solidaire criticized the SAAQclic project, claiming that Quebecers have overpaid hundreds of millions for a system that is failing to deliver adequate service.
This latest outage is not the first time the SAAQ has faced significant IT challenges. In May 2024, the organization experienced a major outage due to equipment failure, and the rollout of the SAAQclic platform has been marred by issues since its launch in February 2023. A public inquiry into the platform revealed that the project, originally estimated to cost $638 million, is now projected to reach $1.1 billion by 2027, leading to widespread frustration among users and stakeholders alike.
As the SAAQ continues to navigate this crisis, clients are left wondering when full service will be restored. The organization has promised to keep the public informed through its website and social media channels. With the ongoing scrutiny of the SAAQclic project and the government's handling of the situation, it remains to be seen how this incident will affect public trust in the SAAQ and its digital initiatives.
In the meantime, those with practical driving exams scheduled for Wednesday can still attend, as the SAAQ has confirmed that these exams will proceed as planned. However, for the many clients affected by the closure of service centers and the cancellation of appointments, the wait for resolution continues.
As the SAAQ works with Microsoft to rectify the situation, the government is under increasing pressure to ensure that such outages do not occur in the future, especially as the SAAQclic platform is intended to be a cornerstone of the agency's digital transformation.
For now, clients are left to navigate the uncertainty and hope for a swift resolution to the ongoing service disruptions. The SAAQ has reassured the public that they are doing everything possible to resolve the issue and restore services as quickly as they can.
