Vancouver Rundown

B.C. is on track to hit a $13.8B deficit by the end of the provincial fiscal year. That news comes as Finance Minister Josie Osborne blames geopolitical events and a bad wildfire season for a terrible fiscal quarter. However, Osborne says the province is still on track for stable economic growth. The financial update comes as BC Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay campaigns in the Abbotsford-Mission byelection, hoping to get a seat in the Legislature.

The yet to be named B.C. centre-right political party has a seventh MLA. Boundary-Similkameen MLA Donegal Wilson has joined the party led by former Conservative Peter Milobar. Wilson says her decision follows a lack of trust in Kerry-Lynne Findlay.

New questions are being raised about what Surrey mayoral candidate Linda Annis knew about a man being treated in hospital after being bitten by one of her dogs. Global News has learned a victim sent a text to Annis saying he received 27 stiches for a deep wound. The attack happened back on May 31. At the time Annis told a reporter it was just a nip after her dalmation went into defensive mode. Annis has received $700 in fines for the attack and not having licenses for her two dogs.

Members of the B.C. wine industry are expressing concern over Donald Trump’s new tariffs on Canadian alcohol products saying it will damage recent relationship building. Very little Okanagan wine is exported to the States but some say the tariffs will damage exposure to key writers and influencers. The Wine Growers of BC is calling on those in the provincial and Canadian distribution systems to ramp up the promotion of domestic products.

A stray bullet has killed a senior in his Burnaby apartment suite. Police have identified a group of teens who they say were in the area where Chang Yong Cho was shot. The body of 85-year-old Cho has been found in a social housing complex on Kingsway by RCMP conducting a welfare check. The discovery was made about a block away from where Mounties responded to a shots-fired call on Aug. 30. No arrests have been made.

Canada’s new dollar-for-dollars tariffs against the U.S. are now in effect. As promised, $28B worth of American imports have been hit with the new levy, ranging from 15 to 50 per cent, as the trade war between the two countries escalates. U.S. President Donald Trump has spent the weekend posting social media jabs including an American flag covering much of North America. He has also targeted Canada’s largest aircraft manufacturer saying, “No more selling Bombardier in the United States!”

A high profile, Vancouver Police officer has been arrested and charged with theft and fraud. Kalwinder (Kal) Dosanjh, who started the charity Kids Play Foundation, is charged with nine counts of theft, fraud and breach of trust. The 50-year-old was arrested in Surrey on Thursday. The VPD has scheduled a Friday morning news conference to give details.

The RCMP are not commenting on reports the force is now investigating allegations of MLAs being offered incentives to quit so unelected BC Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay can seek a seat in the Legislature. Delta-South MLA Ian Paton says RCMP have asked to interview him Wednesday after he claimed Findlay offered him a job if he stepped-down. Paton says he rejected that offer even though he wasn’t aware the deal could be a criminal offence. Similar offers have reportedly been made to two other MLAs. Findlay is now running in the Abbotsford-Mission byelection after the area’s Conservative MLA agreed to step aside.

The federal Liberals have swept all three Monday byelections, including the one in North Vancouver-Capilano. That’s where Braeden Caley easily beat Conservative, NDP and Green candidates to keep the riding for his party following MP Jonathan Wilkinson’s departure to take on the role as EU Ambassador. Caley has previously worked in the Prime Ministers Office with Mark Carney. The Liberals also won byelections in Ontario and Quebec.

At least three B.C. political parties have now announced candidates for the Abbotsford-Mission Byelection. Campaigning is now underway after Premier David Eby set Sept. 28 as the date voters in the constituency will cast ballots after the current MLA stepped aside in an effort to get BC Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay elected and into the Legislature. Findlay will face former NDP MLA Pam Alexis and CentreBC’s Lakhwinder Jhaj. The vote comes as the BC Conservatives struggle with the resignation of several MLAs and the departure of staff members - all citing concerns with Findlay’s leadership.

Add Bruce Banman to the list of MLAs who are quitting the BC Conservative caucus. The Abbotsford-South member announced his departure on Thursday, bringing leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s defections to six MLAs. Several party staffers have also quit or been fired this summer. Banman says person after person has informed him Findlay is unelectable. On Wednesday, close to five dozen party faithful met in the basement of a downtown Vancouver White Spot to discuss damage control and next steps as the party falls apart.

Meanwhile, Elections BC has approved a petition drive by newly elected BC Conservative MLA Harman Bhangu. He wants to get rid of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). The Langley-Abbotsford MLA says the legislation has been a disaster for B.C. and needs to be repealed. The anti-Indigenous property rights petition has the full endorsement of Kerry-Lynne Findlay.