Quebec extends deadlines in response to SAAQ crisis

Quebec is extending the deadline for a number of the province's automobile insurance board services as the SAAQ addresses ongoing disruptions.

Starting Thursday, the validity period of driving licences that would expire between March 9 and June 1, 2023 will be extended. Payment deadlines will be extended for up to 90 days from the licence holder's birthday.

The additional measures come after unions and members of Quebec's opposition parties criticized the Coalition Avenir Québec for its handling of the SAAQ service interruptions after the automobile insurance board launched a new online portal.

"Quebecers should not be penalized by the current situation," Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault said in a statement Wednesday. "The safety of the population remains our priority, so any violation of the road safety will continue to be raised and sanctioned."

The validity period of temporary registration certificates issued between March 9 and April 8 will be extended from 10 to 60 days, giving new owners who buy their vehicle from a car dealer more time to register it.

As of March 9, foreign drivers' licences will remain valid until Aug. 29.

Quebecers whose health insurance card expires between March 9 and June 1 will not have to go to a SAAQ service centre to renew their photo, Guilbault said Wednesday in an interview with Radio-Canada's Tout un matin.

The SAAQ normally requires Quebecers to have their picture taken at its service centres for the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) card.

Exceptionally, the RAMQ will reuse Quebecers' current photo to issue new cards in hopes of minimizing lineups at SAAQ branches.