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

Police identify two women found dead in Vancouver, say deaths aren't connected

Police in Vancouver say they have identified the two women whose bodies were found on the shores of English Bay on Sunday and Monday. Sgt. Steve Addison says police now know the women's names and their families have been informed of their deaths.

Police identify two women found dead in Vancouver, say deaths aren't connected

Bracelet thief on the lam

Mounties on Vancouver Island say they're looking for the public's help to find a suspect in a theft investigation after a child's collection of handmade bracelets was stolen from a front porch in Langford. Westshore R-C-M-P say the gemstone bracelets were made for sale by an 11-year-old girl, and were stolen on July 17th off a porch where she had them displayed.

Bracelet thief on the lam

2 dead in Surrey fires

Police in Surrey say two fires in the city in the last few days have left two people dead in Whalley and Newton. Surrey RCMP say a fire at a home on 112A Avenue on July 20th claimed the life of an 85-year-old woman, but the blaze is not being treated as suspicious.

2 dead in Surrey fires

B.C. wildfire tally surges as firefighters take to air to battle blazes

The numbers seem ever increasing for British Columbia wildfire statistics, including more than 400 fires, tens of thousands of lightning strikes and at least six homes lost. The homes were in the Venables Valley, and Colton Davies with the Thompson-Nicola Regional District says they were among 20 buildings destroyed by the Shetland Creek wildfire.

B.C. wildfire tally surges as firefighters take to air to battle blazes

Bank of Canada cuts key interest rate by quarter percentage point to 4.5%

The Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate for a second consecutive time on Wednesday, but warned the path back to two per cent inflation may be uneven and would ultimately determine the pace of future rate cuts. The central bank says its decision to lower its policy rate by a quarter percentage point was motivated by easing price pressures and weakening economic conditions.

Bank of Canada cuts key interest rate by quarter percentage point to 4.5%

Battle to keep historic town wet and safe

The British Columbia gold rush town of Barkerville is drenched, both from overnight rains and sprinklers dousing its timber buildings, some more than 150 years old. It's part of an effort to save the historic park that is one of the Cariboo region's premier tourist attractions from the flames of the Antler Creek wildfire that is burning out of control about three kilometres away, said Stewart Cawood, Barkerville's public programming and media manager.