Birth displace

A woman who was born in Ontario but living in Quebec applied for a name change after discovering that her birth registration listed the wrong name. She was rejected in both provinces – because she didn’t currently live in Ontario, and because her birth certificate wasn’t issued in Quebec. Officials at Ontario’s Office of the Registrar General told us they don’t have discretion to waive the requirement that applicants live in Ontario for at least one year before being eligible for a name change. However, we discovered a process by which the woman could request that her birth certificate be added to Quebec’s Register of Civil Status, after which she could request a name change.