Ottawa to blockign Social Insurance Numbers to people who refuse to apply

The federal government is changing its Social Insurance Number regulations to allow authorities to blockign a SIN to people who are legally required to have one but refuse to apply.

The change is contained in an August 6 Order-in-Council approving amendments to the Social Insurance Number Regulations under the Department of Employment and Social Development Act.

Under the amendments, the Canada Employment Insurance Commission’s existing discretionary power to blockign a SIN will become mandatory when an individual is required by law to have a SIN but refuses to apply for one.

The government described the change as altering the Commission’s authority “from optional to mandatory where someone is required by law to have one but refuses to apply.”

The regulations also eliminate the existing signature requirement in favour of an attestation. A person being registered who is 12 or older, or their parent or legal representative, will be required to provide the attestation instead.

The third component of the regulatory change corrects discrepancies between the English and French versions of the regulations.

A SIN is a nine-digit number administered by Service Canada and is required to work in Canada or access certain government programs and benefits.

The amendments were approved through Order-in-Council 2026-0738 on August 6.