Status cards need to be updated to prevent fraudulent usage
Canada.com Network article ...
Native status card fraud costs taxpayers $33M a year
Paul Samyn, CanWest News Service
OTTAWA - Fraud and misuse of Indian status cards - which entitle natives to everything from free drug care, to tax-free purchases, to jobs in the United States - have been costing taxpayers an estimated $33 million a year.
Federal documents show the Indian Affairs Department has been working on a plan to stem the problem that has allowed non-natives to not only tap into a number of government benefits but also forego paying federal and provincial taxes.
But the bill to fix the problem won't be cheap. The department estimates it will cost $30 million over five years to come up with a new high-tech form of native identification to replace the roughly 763,000 easily forged paper cards now in use.
"The old card is basically 1960s technology and, as we found out, people can easily replicate it," said Ray Hatfield, a senior official at Indian Affairs.
Hatfield said the department has been aware since the mid-1990s that rights and benefits such as on-reserve housing, education and federal and provincial tax exemptions were being accessed by non-natives.
"We became aware of fraud and misuse through cards that would be turned in and there would be individuals trying to claim benefits they were not entitled to," Hatfield said.
"Once we realized that and it was brought to our attention that this was occurring, we looked at a way of improving the security of the card and the system as well."
The department said it does not have a breakdown of how much money was lost to fraud and what portion was due to misuse.
The push for a secure form of identification for Canada's natives has the backing of the Assembly of First Nations, which wants to ensure natives can continue to pass freely across the border and even work in the United States as part of a long-standing treaty.
"We, as First Nation people, value our rights to cross the border so we don't want anyone to misuse our rights," said Grand Chief John Beaucage.
Beaucage said the assembly has been working with the Indian Affairs Department to develop a card which might include features such as biometrics that it hopes will be made freely available to status Indians.
"I have heard of some fairly large numbers of cards stolen or being forged by non-native people getting tax benefits as well as using the cards for (free) pharmaceuticals," he said.
"Once obtained, they could also be used for illegal crossing of the border."
The AFN also wants the new status cards to meet the requirements the United States is imposing for entry into the country and has had discussions with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials on whether it could allow natives to cross the border without a passport.
NDP native affairs critic Jean Crowder, who obtained the federal documents under the Access to Information Act, said she is worried the department has been dragging its feet on fixing the problem with the cards.
"It shouldn't have taken them this long," she said.
Hatfield said a pilot project underway with Alberta bands on a new secure card is proceeding well and that a new card could be officially rolled out next year.
The department says the redesigned and modernized card will meet federal and international standards for identification cards and will incorporates the latest security features.