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The case of a convicted child pornographer arrested on new charges is highlighting how easy it is to get a legal name change in Saskatchewan.
Gabriel Michael Fisher, 48, was arrested Mar. 29 in Regina on charges of possessing, accessing and making child pornography.
At that time police indicated he was previously known as Kevin Daniel Hudec.
Prior to his name change, Fisher was designated in 2016 as a long-term offender following a series of convictions on child pornography-related charges.
He was under a 10-year supervision order as part of that designation when he changed his name on March 2, less than a month before his latest arrest.
Fisher was legally required to disclose his name change to police, but the province’s Change of Name Act carries no such requirement.
As such, eHealth Saskatchewan, which handles legal name changes, does not ask people to disclose their criminal history. Nor does it ask for fingerprints.
The only requirements for a name change are that an applicant be 18 years old and a Saskatchewan resident who has been in the province for at least three months prior to applying.
Beyond that, a name change comes with a $125 fee and is generally processed within a few weeks.
All name changes get published in the Saskatchewan Gazette issued by the provincial legislature, where they are publicly accessible.
A spokesperson for eHealth Saskatchewan told 650 CKOM other provinces, such as B.C. and Alberta, have systems mandating fingerprinting and criminal record checks for name changes. However, no jurisdiction bars people from changing their names for having a record.
They went on to say the agency would consider adding fingerprinting and record checks to its application process.
Fisher was scheduled to appear Thursday in Regina Provincial Court.
