Chris' Blog

So the SAAQ, as an equal opportunity employer, decided that it wasn’t enough that only I should have great difficulties with my driver’s licence, and in their wisdom issued Christine a driver’s licence…that was good for two weeks (minus the week it took to arrive in the mail, of course). You can see the ‘Valide le’ and ‘Expire le’ dates in the picture below.

She went back and notified them of this little gaff. They were happy to issue a new licence at full price, but first they needed a new picture for the new licence. That makes three photos in total: one for my “gender identity disorder” licence, one for her “psych” licence, and one for the “real” licence.

I must admit, it’s a very creative way to generate additional revenue to offset cost overruns due to inefficiency. Someone must have extended their business lunch to two or three hours to come up with that gem of an idea.

After many trips to the SAAQ to get accident reports, register our car, and apply for a new driver’s licence, it finally arrived in the mail. The accompanying letter said to review the licence carefully and check for any mistakes that might exist in the birthdate and other personal information.

It’s funny; the letter never said to check the picture. So I went down to the SAAQ this morning to let them know that I had indeed found a problem with my licence. They seemed a bit surprised, which is good; I wouldn’t want to think this happens all the time. Now everyone is up to speed and it’s time for a new picture. This is when I’m told that before they can take a new picture they’ll need to see some photo ID…

…I guess that’s because they wouldn’t want someone walking around with, say, someone else’s picture on their driver’s licence. It’s a good thing the SAAQ is there to nip these things in the bud.