The St. John’s Status of Women Council, Trans Support NL and other organizations serving the 2SLGBTQIA+ community are “deeply shocked” at what they say are the sweeping impacts of proposed amendments to provincial name change legislation.
The intent of the proposed amendments is to allow the minister of Service NL discretionary authority to deny convicted sex offenders from changing their names.
Sixteen designated offences under the Criminal Code of Canada are outlined in the amendments. They include sexual assault, child pornography, trafficking and aggravated sexual assault.
The minister would have the authority to refuse the requested name change for anyone convicted of any of the listed offences.
(Photo via Twitter)
However, Quadrangle and other groups says the amendments will make name changes more difficult for all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, with additional fees and criminal records checks, and extra layers of bureaucratic and government approval.
Director of TSNL, Logan St. Croix, says the amendments will create serious barriers for all adults looking to change their name, and it will disproportionately affect the trans and gender diverse communities.
St. Croix says there are ways that government can combat gender-based violence and support victims of sexual crime and “this just isn’t it.”
