Charging for Ontario Photo Cards is discriminatory
At a recent meeting of the board of directors of the Hamilton Council on Aging, we discussed Ontario Photo Cards. I was surprised that not everyone in attendance was aware that the photo cards even existed, and so the idea for this article was born.
The photo cards are governmentissued identification available to those residents in Ontario who do not have a driver’s licence. If you do have a driver’s licence from any province or country, you will be asked to surrender it when applying for a photo card. The cards can be used as proof of identification when accessing vital services. They can be obtained from Service Ontario. Other provinces offer similar identification cards.
As a practising lawyer, I am often required to ask my clients for a copy of their identification to properly identify my clients and ensure compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct.
We are told not to ask for or accept a client’s OHIP card as proof of their identity. This can often pose a problem when my client is a senior citizen who either no longer drives (or has never driven), and has stopped travelling (ruling out a passport).
Even if OHIP cards were an option for proof of identification, oftentimes a senior citizen will no longer have their photograph on their OHIP card (since this is not required for those over 80 years of age). The photo cards are a great option, and I’m always happy to see when a client has one.
So while photo cards are available to any Ontario resident without a driver’s licence, they are especially useful and important for seniors. It is unfortunate, therefore, that there is currently a $35 cost to obtain a photo card. They also need to be renewed every five years (at a fee of $35). This cost may be prohibitive for some seniors on a fixed income and without government-issued identification, accessing many services can become challenging or impossible.
There is no definition of “discrimination” in the Ontario Human Rights Code, but the website for the Ontario Human Rights Commission tells us that “discrimination” includes, among other things, where a policy has the effect of excluding persons, denying benefits, or imposing burdens.
Discrimination can be direct or indirect, which means that discrimination exists when rules, standards, or requirements that appear to be neutral have a discriminatory impact on people identified in the Human Rights Code (which includes age).
OHIP cards are free (as they should be since they are used to access basic health care in Ontario). So why charge $35 for photo cards? They too are used to access basic and vital services, such as: opening a bank account, retaining a lawyer and voting (while there are options to vote without identification, they can be cumbersome).
These services are protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms [see s. 3, s. 6(2)(b), and (s. 10(b)]. Why are we making it more difficult for the aged and low-income members of our society to exercise these rights and get access to justice? Photo cards would allow these rights to be exercised by those without a driver’s licence or passport with ease.
At the very least, one would hope that there would be an exemption or rebate for seniors and other lowincome members of society toward the photo card to prevent the risk of disenfranchising and discriminating against those unable to budget the expense, but there isn’t (at least not as of the date of this article).
Unfortunately, charging for the photo card could be considered a discriminatory practice. Let’s hope it changes.