Proposed bill to ban dangerous offenders from legally changing their names

Mar 22, 2021 | 3:11 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A loophole for anyone declared a dangerous, long-term, or high-risk offender could soon be eliminated.

The Alberta Government has introduced the Vital Statistics Amendment Act, 2021 (VSAA), which would prohibit anyone under these designations from legally changing their names or having someone else request a name change on their behalf.

“We know that violent and dangerous offenders can apply for parole and potentially be released, and Albertans need to know that in such cases, those offenders will not be able to hide under a new name. These changes will provide peace of mind to Albertans and especially to survivors, who live with their trauma for the rest of their lives,” says Nate Glubish, Minister of Service Alberta.

The impacted designations include people who have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to the following crimes:

Dangerous offender: A serious personal injury offence such as aggravated assault, arson, manslaughter, conspiracy to commit murder, or kidnapping. Persons must have a “pattern of repetitive behaviour” and a “pattern of persistent behaviour”
Long-term offender: A pattern of sexual offences and those who the Crown has proven are likely to re-offend
High-risk offender: A person recently paroled from prison who law enforcement considers a risk to the public and likely to re-offend

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If the VSAA passes, people with these designations would be barred for life from changing their names even if their designations are eventually removed.

Every year, the province says about 4,000 Albertans complete a legal name change.

As of June 2020, anyone applying to do this must provide fingerprints and a criminal record or police check. If it turns out the person does have a criminal designation, they will be unable to complete their application.

by David Opinko