Photo: Canadian Press

BC Minister of Health Adrian Dix waits to speak during an announcement in Surrey, BC, June 18, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Gender justice groups in British Columbia are calling for the repeal of new provincial laws that prevent people convicted of serious Criminal Code crimes from changing their names.

The call to repeal the Name Change Act comes from groups including Gender Affirming Health Services, the BC branch of the Canadian Bar Association and the Trans Legal Clinic.

The groups say the law is not necessary to protect the public and harms people who need legal name changes most, including transgender people, indigenous peoples and survivors of gender-based violence.

BC Health Minister Adrian Dix, who introduced the amended legislation last May, said it would ensure that people convicted of serious crimes, including violence against others and acts against children, cannot change their names.

The changes come after BC United Leader Kevin Falcon proposed a private member’s bill to change the law after learning that BC child murderer Allan Schoenborn was legally allowed to change his name to Ken John Johnson.

Schoenborn was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of her children, ages five, eight and 10, in Merritt, B.C., in 2008, but was later found not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.

Neither Dix nor a Ministry of Health spokesperson were immediately available for comment.