National

Former cabinet minister appeals to Elections B.C. to register New Liberal Party of BC

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 17 Sep, 2024 12:51 PM

Former federal cabinet minister Herb Dhaliwal says he wants to revive a liberal party for those left politically homeless in British Columbia after the BC United Party suspended its campaign in the upcoming provincial election.

Dhaliwal says he wants "moderate, centrist" voters to get behind the New Liberal Party of BC in time for the election on October 19.

Dhaliwal says in a statement that the former BC Liberal Party that rebranded as BC United was doomed by a "backroom deal" with the BC Conservative Party that left moderate voters without a "preferred political choice on the ballot."

The former federal cabinet minister who left his Vancouver-area riding in 2004 says Leader Kevin Falcon's suspension of the BC United campaign "betrayed" supporters, and the province risks returning to a "dysfunctional" state of "polarizing right versus left combat."

Dhaliwal says an attempt to register the party under the name "New Liberal Party of BC" was rejected by Elections BC on technical grounds and he's now hired a lawyer to contest the rejection.

A letter from lawyer Joven Narwal to Elections BC says the agency declined to register the name due to potential voter confusion, but adding "not associated with BC United" or a similar phrase to the ballot could avoid "any conceivable confusion in the minds of voters."

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

44M to be pumped into transit for Burnaby

A 44-million-dollar project aims to improve operations at the Burnaby transit centre. A statement from Infrastructure Canada says the joint funding from the federal government and TransLink will support up to 130 additional buses in the fast-growing Metro Vancouver community.

44M to be pumped into transit for Burnaby

Langley mayor wants Province to invest in school expansion in Langley to combat overcrowding

Langley City council is asking the B-C government to invest in expanding schools to address overcrowding as the community grows. A statement from Mayor Nathan Pachal says enrolment has already surpassed capacity, and the expected arrival of the SkyTrain in 2028 along with new provincial housing requirements will bring significantly more students over the next decade.

Langley mayor wants Province to invest in school expansion in Langley to combat overcrowding

2 Surrey crashes land pedestrians in hospital

Police in Surrey say they're investigating two crashes that sent pedestrians to hospital with serious injuries just 90 minutes apart last night. In the first incident, R-C-M-P say a man in his 40s was taken to hospital in critical condition after being hit by a semi-truck whose driver was co-operating with police.

2 Surrey crashes land pedestrians in hospital

National response needed for encampment crisis, evictions must end: federal advocate

Unhoused people have a fundamental right to live in encampments, and that right is violated when authorities tear them down, Canada's housing advocate says. In a piercing report released Tuesday, Marie-Josée Houle says the expansion of homeless encampments across the country is a national human rights crisis that requires immediate action and co-ordination involving all levels of government.

National response needed for encampment crisis, evictions must end: federal advocate

As pharmacare deadline looms, Singh mulls a future without NDP's deal with Liberals

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is mulling what it would mean for his party if the supply-and-confidence deal that ties his party to the Liberals should end prematurely. The NDP signed a political pact with the Liberals in 2022 to support the government on key votes in exchange for progress on shared priorities like pharmacare.

As pharmacare deadline looms, Singh mulls a future without NDP's deal with Liberals

Minister was warned lifting international student work limit could undermine program

Allowing international students to work more than 20 hours a week could distract from their studies and undermine the objective of temporary foreign worker programs, public servants warned the federal government in 2022. The caution came in documents prepared for former immigration minister Sean Fraser as Ottawa looked at waiving the restriction on the number of hours international students could work off-campus — a policy the Liberals eventually implemented.