Federal government to phase out SIN cards
Posted May 16, 2012 6:59 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA (NEWS1130) – It’s one less piece of plastic to clutter up your wallet; the federal government has unveiled plans to get rid of Social Insurance Number cards.
The cards were first issued in 1964 for enrollment in the Canadian Pension Plan or Employment Insurance benefits. The federal government has found that almost 50 per cent of Canadians actually carry the card around with them, even though it isn’t used for the delivery of any everyday services.
Ottawa wants to eliminate the cards by March of 2014. Instead, it will just issue a letter with the number enclosed for personal records.
The current card does not contain any high-tech security codes, which makes them much more vulnerable to theft. The privacy commissioner thinks this is a great idea, as the cards are also easily lost and can be used by very experienced identity thieves.
The demise of the SIN card will save the government around $1.5 million.