Old Age Security Regulations

18 (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4) and section 19, the Minister must determine an applicant’s age and identity for the purposes of the Act on the basis of

• (a) a birth certificate, a copy of one or a copy of an act of birth; or

• (b) any information made available to the Minister by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission under subsection 28.2(5) of the Department of Employment and Social Development Act.

(2) If there are reasonable grounds to doubt the validity of the copy of a birth certificate or act of birth referred to in paragraph (1)(a), the Minister may require that the original birth certificate or, if applicable, a copy of the act of birth issued by the competent authority be submitted.

(3) If there are reasonable grounds to believe that none of the documents referred to in paragraph (1)(a) are available, the Minister may determine the applicant’s age and identity on the basis of any other information or evidence respecting the applicant’s age and identity.

(4) If the Minister is unable to determine the applicant’s age and identity under any of subsections (1) to (3), the Minister may, if possible, determine them on the basis of any information obtained from Statistics Canada under section 6 of the Act.