YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    $6,600 to get SIN? Arctic dwellers fight social insurance number changes

    Imagine having to pay thousands of dollars just to get a card with your social insurance number.

    That's what some northerners say will be the result of recent federal changes to the application process.

    Ottawa recently altered the rules for first-time card applicants so that they can no longer apply for the card by mail.

    Everyone has to show up in person at a Service Canada office, but only three of Nunavut's 28 communities have such offices.

    That means people in Grise (GREEZ) Fiord must travel to Iqaluit to get the card — a $6,600 airfare and a week's journey.

    Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak (AIR'-ee-ak) has protested to the federal government.

    She says the problem is common to all Canada's remote, fly-in communities, not just those in the North.

    [ [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], '27013743', '0' ], [ [['keyword', 9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]
    Search