re: #269 McSpiff

Canada is pretty good about not abusing it. The law now basically says you can only require it for anything needing a credit check. Which most university students need for financial aid. This internal id is separate from student ID, so I’ve never actually seen it used…which as I’m writing this makes me wonder what its actually for…

I think if I remember correctly you have to use it for jobs as well. They need it for tax remittance purposes like unemployment and government pensions. I remember applying for jobs and being asked for my SIN on the actual application. That’s a bit hinky and was told that your within your legal rights to not have to give it to anyone until you get the job and it’s paperwork time. They have no reason to have it on file if you’re just applying.

So many people now just give the thing out willy nilly without thinking. I got a call once for a cellphone promotion from my current telephone company. It was a good deal and decided to go for it until they asked for my SIN. I stopped and said, ‘okay what do you need this for? ’ First time I’d come across that. Poor guy, I drilled him with questions about verification, privacy etc etc. He handled it okay, explained why and ended up giving me a number to call, his verification number and number to call him back. I took it seriously enough to make sure it was all good, did my own checks and didn’t call back until I was completely comfortable giving the number out over the phone.