SAAQ once again considering facial recognition technology, but opposition MNAs raise concerns [Video]

Quebec’s automobile insurance board is once again considering using facial recognition software, but opposition parties at the national assembly are raising doubts about how safe the technology is.

The project came up last year but was put on hold after the agency’s disastrous transition to online services.

All three opposition parties say they’re concerned about the proposal, especially on the heels of the problems the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) experienced when it introduced the SAAQ-Clic program last year.

There were long lines outside SAAQ locations after the new system made it virtually impossible to get anything done online. That “fiasco” shook many people’s confidence in the government’s ability to protect sensitive data and the facial recognition project was paused.

Now, a year later, it appears to be back on the table. Cybersecurity minister Éric Caire says the plan is to use the software to manage the SAAQ’s photo archive. …