Right now in Quebec we are experiencing a crisis similar to the one you may have observed with passports, but this time it is for a completely different reason.

The huge line up we saw last summer in front of Canada’s passport offices was largely due to a huge lack of staff and mismanagement by family minister, Karina Gould.

Today, the problem is quite different.

In order to “roll out a new transactional component,” Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) interrupted several services across Quebec between December 16 and January 3.

Now, in order to access the SAAQ site, you must first create your account on the Government Authentication Service (SAG), which the government wants to phase in over the next few years to allow users to interact with all departments in one place, in a safe manner, they say.

To register, you must have a social insurance number, a health insurance number, a driver’s licence reference number, and a Revenu Québec notice of assessment number that is two years old or less.

But this is the digital identity that just started, and I’ll explain.

Don’t forget to sign our petition against this new Identification at StopDigitalID.com.

I remind you that the Government of Quebec and the Government of Canada want to implement this new technology.

Last February, the premiers of the provinces and territories, for the majority, formally accepted the federal government’s offer for additional health care funding in exchange for sharing their provincial health database with the federal government.

In order to secure additional funding for several years, provinces and territories must accept these conditions.

On the other hand, Premier Scott Moe of Saskatchewan and Premier Danielle Smith of Alberta promised to fight digital identification.

They warned alarmingly that the health accord could lead to the creation of a “digital ID” for every Canadian, and promised that they would not share any of the “personal health information” of their citizens with the federal government.

Is digital identity closer than we think? Today I talk about it more with Philippe Meloni, strategic advisor in information technology.

Watch the report for the full story!