New ID card for kids

BY MARC LALONDE

marc.lalonde@transcontinental.ca

A new identification card for children will speed up the process of finding missing children, the assistant director of the Montreal police department said at the card’s unveiling yesterday morning in Beaconsfield.

The new ID card, about the size of a medicare card, features the child’s photo, a fingerprint and other vital statistics for police who might be trying to track down a missing child. “This will speed up the search considerably,” Brochet said. “If, for instance, you are downtown at the jazz fest, and your child goes missing, it might take a long time to go home and get the ID booklet,” provided by Enfant-Retour Quebec, Brochet said. “With this new ID card, police can start searching for your child right away,” he told a rapt audience at St. Paul elementary school, adding police know how traumatic a missing child can be for a parent. “The hardest part of our job is cases involving missing children, when we see the looks of terror on the parents’ faces. Hopefully, we’ll be able to spread this program beyond the island of Montreal across Quebec,” he said.

The ID card was made possible though funding by Scotiabank, which put up $20,000 to fund the project. “It all started with a dream and a conversation about doing what’s best and this is what came out of that,” senior vice-president Diane Giard said. “We wanted to give back to the community in which we live and work. It’s not always just about writing a cheque, though. You also have to have the desire, the energy and the partners to accomplish the dream.”

The process takes about two minutes to complete and provides parents with a little more peace of mind when it comes to their children, Missing Children’s Network head Pina Arcamone said. “It’s a great, practical tool and a great example of what can happen when non-profits organizations and business work together for the benefit of the most vulnerable members of the community — our kids,” she said.

One parent said the new card was a “great idea,” that makes her feel more secure about her child’s safety. “I think it’s wonderful. I thought, using the example of the jazz fest, for instance, was great, because that could really speed up the process of looking for a missing child. I don’t really even want to think about the idea, frankly, but it’s small, it fits in your wallet and it’s handy,” said Beaconsfield resident Lianne Feher, whose daughter Sarah Jodoin was the first student to receiver her new ID card.

For now, the cards are only available at Scotiabank branches in the West Island. Station 4 police will hold a child ID card day at the Scotiabank branch in Dollard des Ormeaux, 4010 St. John’s Blvd., on May 5 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, call Station 4 at 514-280-0104 or visit any Scotiabank branch.