And a particularly lame one at that. A Whitehorse man was charged with failing to file income tax returns for the past three years. His defence? He claims he doesn't have a name, his birth certificate notwithstanding.

[Cliff] Hanna [the name he admits answering to] says people continue to be defrauded into believing their birth certificate obliges them to obey demands of the Crown. He says there is no record anywhere that he ever accepted the Hanna name.

The relevance of that is unclear. I suspect that very few people ever explicitly accepted their birth name. He also seems unclear about where his name came from.

In a sworn affidavit, Hanna claims his name, James Clifford Hanna, was assigned to his birth certificate many years ago in Alberta. And he claims no responsibility for debts or obligations the government may now assign to that name.
. . .
As far as he's concerned, the name James Clifford Hanna is "hearsay" to him. He concludes, his name is the property of, and creation of the Crown, a bankrupt entity, with no real money.

Actually, Mr Hanna, your name was "assigned" by your parents, not the government. Are you implying that the government should go after them for your taxes?

In any case, even if you don't have a name, you consumed the public services provided by the government: everything from national defence (such as it is) to police protection to roads and sewers. You may think you're not getting your money's worth—but who does? If you want to complain about that, get in line. In the meantime, ya still gotta pay!

The court assessed Mr Hanna a fine and surcharges totalling $3450.