REGINA -- The Saskatchewan government believes released sex offenders should no longer be allowed to change their names.
The latest reported case is of a 76 year-old man recently deported to Canada after serving 20 years for child porn in Nevada.
It's believed he has settled in Saskatchewan and changed his name through the government’s eHealth registry system. Stricter rules have been drafter for cabinet consideration.
"We are changing our regulations so that if a person wants to have a name change for reasons other than marriage or adoption, they would be required to have a criminal record check." Minister of Justice Don Morgan said.
The John Howard Society works with people who come into conflict with the law.
"The important thing is that we are focusing on reform and the goal of zero recidivism,” Shawn Fraser with the John Howard Society said. “So obviously if someone is trying to hide their past no matter the nature of the crime we shouldn't allow that. But if somebody is trying to leave their past behind just to leave their past behind then I think there need to be allowances made for that."
New regulations surrounding name changes are expected to be presented to the provincial cabinet within weeks. Those discussions are held in private but the Minister is expected to push for approval.
