XPost: can.internet.highspeed   
   From: here@there.com   
      
   Overseer wrote:   
      
   >> The Liberals brought in the SIN originally - late 60's or early 70's, I   
   >> don't recall now. I *do* recall PET himself stating (emphatically) that   
   >> *no-one* (other than government agencies) had a right to demand your SIN,   
   >> nor were you obliged to give it to them.   
   >   
   > That would have been Lester Pearson, as the SIN was introduced in 1964,   
   > initially for CPP and UIC. It was appended to the tax system in 1967,   
   > Trudeau didn't become PM until April 20, 1968. BTW: Official bi-lingualism   
   > was also created by Lester Pearson!   
      
   Yeah ... I realised afterwards that it had to be the 60's. It was viewed   
   with a lot of suspicion at that time because it smacked of   
   "Identification Numbers and Cards" - an unpopular concept particularly   
   among European immigrants (it wasn't so very long after WW2). How times   
   have changed!   
      
   The Trudeau quote that I recall was in the 70's (not long after they   
   started televising Question Period - when people actually watched it   
   because it was new). Trudeau was getting hassled by the opposition   
   because the banks were demanding clients' SINs in order to open an   
   account ... contradicting to the undertaking given when the SIN   
   legislation was introduced.   
      
   Trudeau's response was that you were "not obliged to give your SIN to   
   anyone except certain government agencies".   
      
   When it was pointed out that if you did that the banks refused to open   
   an account, his response was that you were "not obliged to give your SIN   
   to anyone except certain government agencies".   
      
   When he was repeatedly pressed further his (repeated) response was that   
   you were "not obliged to give your SIN to anyone except certain   
   government agencies".   
      
   The cynicism was dripping down the TV screen   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)