George Orwell lives!
Pre-1984 birth certificates could be rendered useless
By KIM LUNMAN
Saturday, October 12, 2002 – Page A9
OTTAWA -- Most Canadians older than 12 may have to apply for new birth certificates.
The federal government is considering a recommendation by the Vital Statistics Council that Canada invalidate certificates issued before 1984.
Concern about security after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has highlighted the issue of bogus Canadian birth certificates, said John McWhinnie, an assistant deputy minister for the Human Resources Development Department.
"We're in a different world, and the bar has risen," said Mr. McWhinnie, adding: "We're always trying to improve the integrity of the identification we use."
Ottawa also wants electronic links to provincial vital-statistics agencies, which keep track of birth and death certificates, to help prevent identity fraud.
A report submitted to the federal government in April, obtained by The Globe and Mail under access-to-information legislation, warns that many birth certificates are forged and legitimate documents are fraudulently obtained.
The report by the Vital Statistics Council for Canada states that it is difficult to determine whether birth certificates are valid.
"At present it may be difficult to tell because there are so many different styles from different jurisdictions and so many easily forged, older issues out in circulation."
It is easy to assume someone else's identity by obtaining a bogus birth certificate, the report says. "At present as long as the applicant supplies the correct information and the subject of the birth registration is not deceased any person could get another person's birth certificate."
An interdepartment committee that includes representatives from Citizenship and Immigration is reviewing a recommendation to combat problems with the older documentation.
Andrew McBride, who is also deputy director of the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency, submitted the report to the committee in April.
He said that birth certificates issued before 1984 are easily forged and do not have the security features of the newer ones.
"There are no security features," Mr. McBride said. "I could produce them, a dime a dozen a day."
Newer birth certificates are printed on bank-note paper comparable to that used for money, making them much more difficult to counterfeit, he said.
Mr. McBride said there is a need for the provinces and federal government to use electronic technology to cross-reference identification. "The crooks figured out how to get in. You have to use electronic technology to close the loophole."
Mr. McBride said the provinces and territories would have to change vital-statistics legislation to invalidate the older certificates and would require the federal government's co-operation in such areas as the passport office.
The federal government has stopped accepting baptismal certificates from Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador as acceptable proof of identity. |
