He collapses in a long line at SAAQ after a 4 hour wait

Quebecers’ frustration with SAAQ’s digital transformation failures reached a fever pitch yesterday after images circulated showing a man collapsing in a queue at the state company’s office downstairs.

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The government agency is actively trying to transfer most of its services to the transaction platform, SAAQclic.

However, long queues, technical problems, paid but invalid permits: the Société de l’Assurance Automobile du Québec (SAAQ) has been mired in a series of setbacks.

Another tile fell on the head of the state-owned company yesterday, according to images broadcast by TVA Nouvelles.

The 50-year-old man, who has only been in Quebec for a short time, would join a line of customers early in the morning to exchange his driver’s license, according to a witness interviewed by the TV network, who preferred to remain anonymous.

After perhaps hours of waiting, he collapses on the ground, needing help from a nearby Good Samaritan.

As the scene suggests, has his forced standing led to weakness? The exact cause of the incident remains a mystery, but the image captured the imagination of many Quebecers.

a failure

Even some elected officials do not hesitate to speak out on social networks.

“I’m angry! SAAQ is your responsibility [François Legault]. Long lines are your failure, your failure,” Quebec Liberal Party interim leader Marc Tanguay called on the prime minister.

Faced with protest, SAAQ sought to clarify the circumstances of the incident.

“Masier did not come there for four hours [comme l’a avancé la témoin] And he has no appointment,” wrote spokesman Gino Desrosiers, without specifying an approximate wait time the man would have to commit.

At noon, the emergency services were called to intervene, despite the fifty-year-old’s wishes to the contrary. The latter refused to meet the first responders, “but he finally agreed and then returned to the queue,” adds Gino Desrosiers.