The Provincial Government is proposing changes to the legal name change process by providing the Minister of Digital Government and Service NL the authority to prohibit sex offenders from legally changing their names.

The amendments include 16 designated offences from the Criminal Code, including sexual assault, child pornography, trafficking and aggravated sexual assault.

The proposed amendments will also require criminal record checks from applicants seeking legal name changes.

Newfoundland and Labrador would become the fourth province in Canada to allow for the denial of name change applications by sex offenders.