IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH OUR HEALTH CARDS?
What’s wrong with this picture _ the
one on your shiny new health card?
That’s what Bob Runciman, MPP for Leeds-Grenville,
would like to know.
Runciman was flabbergasted recently when he
discovered that the Ministry of Transportation
would not accept a 16-year-old girl’s
health card as valid identification when she
applied for a G1 driver’s licence.
The young woman was advised that a library
card bearing her signature would be acceptable
but not the hard-to-get health card that bears
both her picture and her signature.
“Something’s wrong here,”
said Runciman. “To obtain a health card
in Ontario, a person has to appear in person
with three pieces of identification including
a birth certificate (or a passport). And we
know that getting a birth certificate has stringent
requirements.
“If a birth certificate is not considered
valid ID by another ministry why are we putting
people through all these hoops to get them renewed,”
said Runciman.
Runciman said if other groups don’t want
to accept health cards as valid ID, that’s
one thing.
“When another ministry of our government
says a library card with a signature carries
more weight as valid ID than our health cards,
then what does it say about the process for
obtaining or renewing a health card?”
Not even casinos in Ontario accept health cards
as identification and this has caused considerable
grief for seniors who do not have driver’s
licences. To solve this problem, the Ontario
Lottery and Gaming Commission is now issuing
its own identification cards.
And of course, the applicant will need to submit
an application form with a guarantor certificate,
a certified true copy of a birth certificate,
proof of citizenship, or a passport, and two
certified colour passport quality photographs.
It will take about a month for the application
to be processed.
But the new ID will be worth it. It will allow
you to collect your winnings at one of Ontario’s
casinos.
“I think it’s time this government
take a closer look at its requirements for identification,”
said Runciman. “I would think a recent
photo health card would rank as a valid piece
of identification. I would like someone to explain
to me why it doesn’t.”
Media Contact:
Don Swayne
Constituency Executive Assistant
(613) 342-9522
