By Patrick Book

New one-piece Saskatchewan drivers’ license revealed

Nov 18, 2010 | 3:40 PM

The government is rolling out Saskatchewan's new one-piece driver's license, a document that will replace the less secure two-part paper license and photo identification.

The new cards cost over $2 million to develop but are cheaper to make than the old licenses, which will be phased out in the new year. The licenses, along with similarly-designed photo ID cards, will have a five-year term so residents will have to renew them less frequently.

The card itself has numerous security features, but SGI Minister Tim McMillan insists they're only letting the public know about some of them at this point.

“There's a certain amount of the security features that can be revealed to the public. There are also several layers of security that are embedded in the card that are for law enforcement purposes.”

The security features include raised printing, a holographic picture window, and tiny printing reminiscent of Canada's dollar bills. McMillan insists those are in place to ensure authorities know the cards are authentic and to prevent counterfeiting.

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The cards also feature a high-security barcode that police officers can scan to access the information printed on the card more quickly. Police services in the province were consulted on the creation of the cards for that purpose, which should save officers time by removing the need to copy the information by hand.