New Birth Certificate On the Way

By 250 News

Effective Jan. 2, 2008, B.C. will introduce a new, more secure and durable format of birth certificate.

Health Minister George Abbott  says the  new  birth certificate  will be hi-tech and durable. 

 "Current B.C. birth certificates have not changed since 1983 and deploy 1950s-era security features. Creating a more secure version is an important way to assist
British Columbians in protecting their identity."

The new certificate is made of high-security plastic, making it extremely durable and enabling more than 20 security features. Some visible features include:

* When held to the light, irregular marks on the front and back of the certificate align to form a maple leaf;
* Two transparent windows - one with a colour shifting property and one with three floating maple leaves;
* Unique watermark/shadow features; and
* Larger size that makes it impractical to carry in a wallet or purse, reducing the chance of loss or theft.

 The new certificate will be similar in format to a passport and British Columbians will be able to choose from two types of certificate - one with individual information only and one that includes parental information. Both certificates will be the same size and will replace the current large and small size of birth certificate.

Eight Canadian provinces - British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan - will introduce the certificate in late 2007 or early 2008. The remaining provinces and territories will follow at a later date. Once the adopted changes take effect, birth certificates in
participating provinces will have a common look. Although certificates are of the same design, each will clearly indicate the issuing province or territory.

The introduction of the new certificate will not invalidate existing birth certificates for the foreseeable future; however, birth certificates issued after Jan. 2 will be in the new format only. The cost of a birth certificate in British Columbia will remain at $27.

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