Prairie provinces team up to produce photo ID

Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) and Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) are teaming up to produce photo ID cards for drivers in both provinces.

The SGI/MPI partnership is intended to provide Manitoba with a reliable, cost-effective replacement for its current photo ID card technology, which, SGI says in a press release, “is rapidly nearing the end of its useful life.”

In the fall of 2006, SGI will begin producing the photo card portion of the Manitoba driver’s licence. SGI will perform this service for Manitoba on a cost recovery basis. MPI, in turn, will reimburse SGI for start-up costs, projected to be between CD$60,000 and CD$80,000.

“This partnership with SGI provides Manitobans with the best possible combination of affordability, security, service and reliability,” MPI president and CEO Marilyn McLaren said in a press release. “Both of our organizations strive for these goals every day, and that’s why this partnership makes so much sense.”

SGI says it currently has the printing capacity to accommodate the additional volumes without affecting Saskatchewan drivers or customer service levels. SGI introduced the use of a digitized photo card as part of the Saskatchewan driver’s licence in 2001.

SGI says that as a result of its partnership with MPI, economies of scale will reduce the cost of printing a photo ID card in each province to $1.62 – representing a 19% cost reduction for Saskatchewan and a decrease of nearly 50% per card for Manitoba.

“Entering into this partnership with Manitoba saves money now and is the first step towards working together in the future,” SGI president Jon Schubert said. “There is potential savings of $350,000 to $400,000 over the agreement’s life span through sharing fixed costs associated with required system upgrades in the production of photo ID cards.”