For a province that likes to boast about its efforts to reduce red tape and make life easier for residents, British Columbia is certainly behind other jurisdictions in making it easy for people who changed their marital status to adopt a different name.
At this point, married British Columbians cannot double-barrel or hyphenate their last name without having to go through the rigorous process of a legal name change. The situation can be even more complex for newcomers to Canada, especially those born in nations where both last names of parents are used in legal documents. In some cases, the names of the same person will appear differently in passports, driver’s licences, CareCards, education certificates and property titles.
A legal name change currently costs $137 in our province, and additional costs can be incurred for fingerprinting and a criminal record check. It seems a high price to pay for a simple task that many other provinces have no problem with.
British Columbia is practically alone in making recently married people jump through hoops.
Ontario allows a person to assume a spouse’s last name on a health card or driver’s licence completely free of charge. Alberta does not require residents to legally change their name, even saying it is “traditionally acceptable” to let people hyphenate or double-barrel if they please. Saskatchewan makes it clear that there is “no application process or fee” for people who choose to change their last name.
Insights West asked British Columbians about the current regulations, and the sentiment for change was obvious. A sizable majority of residents (70%) agree with both allowing spouses to assume their spouse’s last name and allowing spouses to double-barrel or hyphenate their last names.
Other provinces have no problem with facilitating these changes, at no cost and with no need for fingerprints or a criminal record check.
A private member’s bill is one of the ways to ensure that British Columbia is no longer one of the most antediluvian Canadian provinces on the issue of name changes. There is an added incentive to act quickly: in less than a year, British Columbians will rely exclusively on the “OneCard” to access health-care services and drive in the province. The discrepancy between British Columbia and other large provinces can be a thing of the past.
The looming provincial election presents a unique opportunity for political parties to ensure that British Columbia meets the standards of other parts of Canada when it comes to name changes.
Marriage is perhaps one of the most personal decisions that a person will make in his or her lifetime. It should be accompanied with the opportunity to adopt a new name without having to go through a process that is pricey, exaggerated and cumbersome.
Mario Canseco is vice-president of public affairs at Insights West.
