Finance committee  That number was already in the act, so it is not a new provision. I don't know if a specific methodology was used to develop it. But they wanted to have something in the act to discourage inappropriate use and creation of cards. Recently, it was also added to the Criminal Code, making the creation and the collection of things such as a social insurance card a criminal offence.

Finance committee  My pleasure. Thank you very much.

Finance committee  Sorry, what would people have thought we were already doing?

Finance committee  It's one of a variety of considerations that we've taken into account. It is an initiative that's been discussed in the department for quite some time. More and more we recognize that the physical card is not required in order for us to do our business or for other government departments to do their business.

Finance committee  It's certainly part of the context in which the decision was made. I wouldn't say it was a direct factor. But we are modernizing the way we deliver services. As we do that, we recognize that more and more of these transactions will be done online, electronically, using a smart phone, using a home computer.

Finance committee  Yes, this is an existing provision, so this doesn't change because of this amendment. The commission is able to make information available for the purpose of effective identification of the client and for the effective use of the social insurance number. Those are two terms that give the high-level guidelines, and then any decision the commission makes is also guided by the lesser legislation that they talked about previously around privacy, the Privacy Act, as well as a number of other acts of Parliament that provide authority for that particular program to use the social insurance number.

Finance committee  The social insurance register does exist. It was created in 1964, when the social insurance number was originally created. That does not change in this amendment. That is very much the status quo. I don't have an exhaustive list here, but the information contained in that register is obviously the name, the address we sent the letter or card to, the date of birth, gender, and those sorts of pieces.

Finance committee  Yes, that is correct. The social insurance number card is simply a piece of plastic with your name and number punched into it and some ink. An enterprising grade 12 student could do it in his or her parent's basement without the parents even knowing. It doesn't provide any security.

Finance committee  Certainly. In fact, on the Service Canada website, under the heading “Social Insurance Number”, there are, in fact, a couple of booklets. One is specifically on protecting your information, and one is a code of conduct, we call it. It's not just about how individuals are supposed to use social insurance numbers but also about how businesses and government should use the social insurance number.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. This particular division of the bill runs from clause 304 to clause 314. In the context of the presentation you just heard from my colleagues about moving various pieces of the EI Act into the departmental act, the text you see in these clauses reflects that move because it is happening at the same time; it makes some additional changes to some of that text to deal with the social insurance number card.