An Act to amend the Criminal Code (identity verification)

Bill C-289 was a Conservative Private Member's Bill amending the Criminal Code (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46) to address identity-verification fraud, particularly identity theft involving Social Insurance Numbers (SINs) and federal-government identification documents. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre received approximately 113,000 fraud reports in 2023 totaling $568 million in reported losses, with identity-fraud representing approximately 25 percent of cases. The bill would have created new offences under section 402.2 of the Criminal Code (identity theft) for unauthorized SIN possession and increased maximum penalties from 5 to 10 years for indictable offences. Did not pass second reading.