Second

Session, 50th General Assembly

Charles III, 2023

BILL 50

AN ACT TO AMEND THE

CHANGE OF NAME ACT, 2009

Received

and Read the First Time ................................................................

Second

Reading ............................................................................................

Committee .....................................................................................................

Third

Reading ...............................................................................................

Royal

Assent .................................................................................................

HONOURABLE SARAH

STOODLEY

Minister of Digital

Government and Service Newfoundland and Labrador

Ordered to be printed by

the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would amend the Change of Name Act, 2009 to

authorize the minister to

prohibit name changes by persons convicted of prescribed provisions of the Criminal

Code of Canada;

require that an applicant for a

change of name provide a certified criminal records check except where the

application relates to a change of a child's name;

require that the registrar

general also publish a notice of change of a given name granted under this Act;

and

incorporate gender-neutral

language.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHANGE OF NAME ACT,

Analysis

S.2 Amdt.

Interpretation

S.3 Amdt.

Exceptions to application of Act

S.4 Amdt.

Eligibility

S.6 Amdt.

Change of name of child by parent

S.10 Amdt.

Requirements

S.11 Amdt.

Grant and refusal of application

S.14 R&S

Publication of change of name

S.16 Amdt.

Change

S.17 Amdt.

Order by court

S.18 Amdt.

Annulment of change

S.19 Amdt.

Offences

Transitional

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

SNL2009 cC-8.1

as amended

1. (1) Paragraph 2(1)(

d) of the Change of Name Act, 2009 is amended by deleting

the words "Trial Division" and substituting the words "Supreme

Court".

(2) Subsection 2(1) of the Act is amended by

adding immediately after paragraph (

d) the following:

(d.1) "department" means the department presided

over by the minister;

(3) Paragraph 2(1)(

f) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(f) "judge" means a judge of the

Provincial Court or the Supreme Court, as the context requires;

(4) Subsection 2(1) of the Act is amended by

adding immediately after paragraph (

f) the following:

(f.1) "listed offence" means

(

i) an offence under any of the following

provisions of the Criminal Code:

(

A) section 163.1 (child pornography),

(

B) section 172.1 (luring a child),

(

C) section 271 (sexual assault),

(

D) section 272 (sexual assault with a weapon,

threats to a third party or causing bodily harm),

(E) paragraph 273(2)(a) (aggravated sexual assault

- use of a restricted firearm or prohibited firearm or any firearm in

connection with criminal organization),

(F) paragraph 273(2)(a.1) (aggravated sexual

assault - use of a firearm),

(G) paragraph 273(2)(b) (aggravated sexual

assault),

(

H) section 279.011 (trafficking - person under 18

years),

(

I) subsection 279.02(2) (material benefit

- trafficking of person under 18 years),

(

J) subsection 286.1(2) (obtaining sexual services

for consideration from person under 18 years),

(

K) subsection 286.2(2) (material benefit from

sexual services provided by person under 18 years), and

(

L) subsection 286.3(2) (procuring - person

under 18 years),

(ii) an offence under the following provision of

the Criminal Code

chapter C-34 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970, as they

read from time to time before January 4, 1983:

(

A) section 144 (rape),

(iii) an offence under any of the following

provisions of the Criminal Code

chapter C-34 of the Revised Statutes of Canada,

1970, as enacted by

section 19 of

An Act to amend the Criminal Code in

relation to sexual offences and other offences against the person and to amend

certain other Acts in relation thereto or in consequence thereof ,

chapter 125 of the Statutes of Canada, 1980-81-82-83:

(

A) section 246.1 (sexual assault),

(

B) section 246.2 (sexual assault with a weapon,

threats to a third party or causing bodily harm), and

(

C) section 246.3 (aggravated sexual assault);

2. Paragraph 3(

b) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "his or her" and substituting the words "the

person's".

3. (1) Subsection 4(1) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "his or her" and substituting the words "the

person's".

(2) Subsection 4(2) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "he or she" and substituting the words "the

person".

(3) Subsection 4(3) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "to change his or her name where he or she" and

substituting the words "for a change of name where the child".

4. Subsection 6(1) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "his or her child" and substituting the words

"a child of the parent".

5. (1) Subsection 10(2) of the Act is amended by deleting

the word "and" at the end of paragraph (

c) and adding immediately

after paragraph (

c) the following:

(c.1) a certified criminal

records check satisfactory to the registrar general from the Royal Newfoundland

Constabulary, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or another organization

approved by the minister; and

(2) Section 10 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after subsection (2) the following:

(3) Notwithstanding

paragraph (2)(c.1), an applicant is not required to provide a certified

criminal records check where the application relates to the change of a childs

name.

(1) Section 11 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after subsection (1) the following:

(1.1) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where a certified

criminal records check provided in accordance with paragraph 10(2)(c.1) discloses

that the applicant was convicted of a listed offence, the registrar general

shall provide the application and other documentation provided under

section 10

to the minister to determine whether to grant or refuse the change of name.

(2) Subsection 11(2) of the Act is amended by

deleting the word "or" at the end of paragraph (a), deleting the

comma at the end of subparagraph (b)(iv) and substituting a semi-colon and the

word "or" and by adding immediately after subparagraph (b)(iv) the

following:

(

c) the minister directs the registrar general to

refuse the name change in accordance with subsection (1.1),

Section 14 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Publication of

change of name

(1) The registrar general shall immediately publish a

notice of a change of name granted under this Act in the Gazette , except

where publication of a notice is dispensed with under subsection (2).

(2) The minister may

allow an exemption to the requirement to publish the change of name under

subsection (1) where, in the minister's opinion,

(

a) the applicant would

be unduly prejudiced or embarrassed by the publication;

(

b) the change of name

applied for is of a minor effect; or

(

c) the applicant has

been commonly known under the name for which the applicant has made the

application.

(3) Notwithstanding

the notification of change of name where publication is not required by that

subsection.

8. Subsection 16(5) of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

(5) This

section shall

apply to a document which references the name of the person whose name has

changed and shall apply, with the necessary changes, to documents which

reference both the person whose name has changed and another person only where

the consent of that other person has been obtained.

9. Paragraph 17(

b) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "his or her" and substituting the word

"the".

10. (1) Subsection 18(4) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "his or her".

(2) Subsection 18(5) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "him or her" and substituting the words "the

minister".

11. (1) Paragraph 19(1)(

b) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "he or she" and substituting the words "the

person".

(2) Paragraph 19(1)(

c) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "he or she" and substituting the words "the

person".

(3) Paragraph 19(1)(

d) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "his or her" and substituting the words "the

person's".

Transitional

12. Where an application for a change of name is

filed before the coming into force of this Act, the applicant is not required

to file a certified criminal records check referred to in paragraph 10(2)(c.1).

King's Printer