Rob Fai interviews Rob Dhanu KC on the Jas Johal Show, 980 CKNW, about B.C. legislation to prevent offender name changes. Offenders in British Columbia convicted of serious Criminal Code offences will no longer be permitted to legally change their names under legislation introduced in May of 2024.
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix says the proposed law would amend the province's Name Act to ensure people convicted of dangerous offences can't change their name.
The legislation comes less than three weeks after Opposition B.C. United Leader Kevin Falcon proposed a private member's bill to change the same act after learning child-killer Allan Schoenborn was recently permitted to legally change his name, with his new identity being made public on Monday.
"What this legislation does is it says that people who have been found guilty of very serious offences — violence against other people, acts against children — will not be permitted to change their name," said Health Minister Adrian Dix following introduction of the bill in the legislature.
"The focus here is the offence and not the verdict," he said. "What it ensures really is more safety and reflects the views of families who are facing these circumstances."
