Over the weekend, delegates at the BC NDP convention voted in favour of repealing a piece of legislation the party itself introduced and passed in 2023.Under the Name Amendment Act, which prevents convicted criminals from changing their names, anyone seeking to change their name for any reason must complete a criminal background check. That lengthens the process for everyone, which opponents argued negatively impacts transgender people.The resolution that passed called on the BC NDP to "call on the BC government to immediately repeal the Name Change Ban, and to work with SOGI Caucus and other affected groups to remove barriers to legal recognition and accurate ID."It was put forth by a coalition of groups, including the SOGI Caucus, Fraser Valley Labour Council, Women and Gender Rights Committee, and Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour Committee.They claimed that the law facilitates "deadnaming," the practice of using a transgender individual's unchanged legal name, and since legal recognition is required to access essential services, preventing anyone from changing their name would essentially amount to restricting their human rights..The Name Amendment Act, which received unanimous support in the legislature, currently "prohibits a legal change of name for a person who has been:Convicted of a prescribed offence as established in the Name RegulationFound to be a dangerous offenderFound to be a long-term offenderFound not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder and the act or omission that formed the basis of the offence charged was an offence prescribed in the Name Regulation."If repealed, it would allow those who fall into the aforementioned categories to legally change their name.The delegates' move was slammed by BC Conservative leader John Rustad."The NDP just voted to repeal a law that prevents dangerous criminals from wiping their names clean," he lamented. "This law was their own government’s work. Now party activists have decided they want it gone. Premier Eby did not speak up to defend it and not one NDP MLA stood to defend the intention and purpose of their own legislation. Their silence says everything about their commitment to public safety."Rustad argued that this was further evidence that the BC NDP was "not a government focused on protecting British Columbians," but "captured by activists who do not understand the realities facing victims and communities."
