Latest news with #MLA
CBC
3 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
PC leader accuses Manitoba premier of dragging feet on Spruce Woods byelection
Manitoba Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan says Premier Wab Kinew is dragging his feet on calling a byelection in Spruce Woods, which has been without an MLA since March. The southwestern Manitoba constituency has had no representation since former PC MLA Grant Jackson resigned on March 24 to run in April's federal election. Jackson is now the Conservative MP for Brandon-Souris, and the PCs have nominated party volunteer Colleen Robbins to run in a Spruce Woods byelection that must be held by Sept. 24. In a letter to Kinew on Tuesday, Khan requested the premier call this byelection as soon as possible. "Summer is an important time in rural constituencies full of fairs, festivals and events, and whomever should be elected to represent Spruce Woods deserves this opportunity to engage with their constituents," Khan wrote. Khan said Kinew made relatively quick byelection calls following the resignation of PC MLA Heather Stefanson in Tuxedo and the death of NDP MLA Nello Altomare in Transcona. The Tuxedo byelection, which was won by the NDP's Carla Compton, was held 43 days after Stefanson resigned, while the Transcona byelection, which Shannon Corbett won for the NDP, was held within 63 days of Altomare's death, Khan noted. "It's clear … [Kinew] thought he had a chance to win Tuxedo, so he called it early. He thought he had a chance of winning Transcona, so he called it early. Now, this is going to be more than 120 days," Khan said in an interview. The Opposition leader accused the premier of holding off on making the call because Spruce Woods is a conservative constituency, where the NDP is unlikely to be competitive. No party other than the PCs has won the southwestern Manitoba constituency since it was created in 2011. Former MLAs Jackson and Cliff Cullen won more than 60 per cent of the vote in the constituency in each of the four provincial elections held over the past 14 years. "It's clear that Kinew is avoiding it. He doesn't want to call it," Khan said. "He wants to drag it on as long as possible, which is not fair to the Manitobans in any constituency." Ryan Stelter, a spokesperson for Kinew, said in a statement the Spruce Woods byelection "will be called in due course according to the normal timeline." That means ensuring a vote takes place before the six-month deadline for a Spruce Woods byelection, he said, which makes Sept. 24 the latest possible date for the byelection. The NDP has not declared a nominee for Spruce Woods. The Liberal Party has nominated educator Stephen Reid as its candidate. PC nominee Robbins has been endorsed by former MLA Jackson.
CBC
4 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
What you need to know about 3 Alberta byelections as polls open
Tens of thousands of Alberta voters will have a chance to cast ballots during the next week as advanced polls open in three provincial byelections. Voting begins Tuesday in the ridings of Edmonton-Ellerslie, Edmonton-Strathcona and Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills to select three new MLAs. "It is unusual to have that many by elections at the same time," says Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt. He says "weird things" sometimes happen in these interim votes, when public engagement and turnout is lower than in a general election. Although turnout in the 2023 provincial election was close to 60 per cent, about 36 per cent of voters cast ballots in a Lethbridge-West byelection held in December 2024, according to Elections Alberta. WATCH | Byelection time for 3 Alberta ridings: Everything you need to know about the byelection 12 hours ago Duration 2:16 Three ridings in Alberta are in need of new elected representatives after losing their MLAs. The CBC's Tristan Mottershead has the details on what residents of Ellerslie, Strathcona and Olds-Disdbury-Three-Hills need to know before the byelection. 3 Alberta provincial byelections called for June 23 Liberals drop Rod Loyola as Edmonton candidate with less than a month to go before polls open The vacant seats are in Edmonton-Strathcona, where former NDP leader Rachel Notley stepped aside in December; Edmonton-Ellerslie, where past NDP MLA Rod Loyola resigned in March to run in the federal election; and Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, where United Conservative Party MLA and legislature Speaker Nathan Cooper relinquished his seat to become Alberta's envoy in Washington, D.C. NDP leader Naheed Nenshi, who served as Calgary mayor from 2010 to 2021, is running to replace Notley in Edmonton-Strathcona after nearly a year at the helm of the party without a seat in the legislature. Nenshi is competing with UCP government staffer Darby-Rae Crouch, the Alberta Republican Party's Ravina Chand, Samuel Petrov of the Alberta Party, Don Slater of the Alberta Liberal Party, and Jesse Stretch of the Wildrose Loyalty Coalition. CBC spoke to three political analysts on Monday who expect Nenshi to comfortably win the contest. "It is the safest NDP riding in Alberta, provincially," Bratt said. Although there are some candidate signs on lawns and fences on nearby streets, some voters on Whyte Avenue Monday morning were unaware there was a byelection campaign underway. Suspense in Edmonton-Ellerslie Evan Menzies, vice-president of Crestview Strategy, and a former Wildrose Party staffer, says voters are tuned out after a long, high-stakes federal election campaign and trying to enjoy a short Prairie summer. "Especially when these byelections don't feel like there's anything nearly as dramatic as what we were talking about during the federal election," he said. The UCP is also looking to capitalize on recent polls that suggest NDP support in Edmonton and Calgary has slipped since the 2023 provincial election, Menzies said. It could leave Edmonton-Ellerslie, a diverse area in the city's southeast, as the most unpredictable byelection of the three, he said. "The UCP are throwing everything they've got at that Ellerslie seat," says Deron Bilous, senior vice president for western Canada with Counsel Public Affairs and a former Edmonton NDP MLA. Former Progressive Conservative MLA Naresh Bhardwaj is running for the UCP. Broadcaster Gurtej Singh Brar won a four-way NDP nomination race. The riding has been orange since departed MLA Loyola defeated Bhardwaj in 2015. Bilous said even in Edmonton, where the NDP swept every seat in the last provincial election, the result in Ellerslie will hinge on turnout. "That would be a damaging blow for them to lose a seat in fortress Edmonton," Bratt said. "In a byelection, anything is possible." Also running in the riding are Carolline Currie for the Alberta Party, the Wildrose Loyalty Coalition's Pamela Henson, Fred Munn of the Republican Party of Alberta and Manpreet Tiwana of the Liberals. Separatists enter the contest Menzies says the byelection in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills will be the first barometer of how much Alberta separatist sentiment translates into action at the polls. Cam Davies, leader of the newly rebranded Alberta Republican Party, which supports separation from Canada, will make a bid there to get the party's first legislature seat. "It will be interesting to see how much of that is actually baked into reality," Menzies said of polls suggesting growing support for separation. The UCP candidate is Tara Sawyer, former head of Alberta Grains and Grain Growers of Canada. Beverley Toews is the NDP candidate and Bill Tufts is running for the Wildrose Loyalty Coalition. Bilous says he thinks Toews will perform better than expected in the rural riding after she packed a town hall meeting in Carstairs. Although he expects the UCP to hold onto the seat, Bilous said the republicans are consuming some oxygen. "I just don't know if there's enough votes for anything crazy to happen — like, the NDP comes up the middle because the two conservative parties split the vote," he said. Advance polls are open in the three ridings from Tuesday to Saturday. Election day is Monday, June 23, when polls are open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Electors can also cast a ballot at their local returning office until Monday.
South Wales Guardian
5 days ago
- Business
- South Wales Guardian
Stormont MLA Remuneration Board Bill passes despite opposition
The Assembly Members (Independent Remuneration Board) Bill will establish a new independent board to determine salaries and pensions for MLAs. It will replace the previous Independent Financial Review Panel which has been defunct for a number of years. Currently, the basic salary for an MLA is £51,500, but this can rise with position including chairing some committees or serving as a minister, with the First and deputy First Ministers receiving a salary of £123,500. A report alongside the Bill showed MLA salaries are lower than those received by Members of the Scottish Parliament (£72,196), Assembly Members at the Welsh Assembly (£72,057) and Members of the Irish Parliament (113,679 euros/£94,537). The Bill, put forward by the Assembly Commission, was passed by an oral vote by MLAs on Monday, with the sole MLAs representing the TUV and People Before Profit both opposing the Bill. TUV MLA Timothy Gaston claimed it is 'nothing more than a vehicle to enable MLAs to award themselves a substantial pay rise', and objected to former MLAs being entitled to sit on the new board. People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll also criticised that former MLAs could sit on the board, and said that a pay rise for MLAs amid 'rising rates of poverty' would be 'completely tone deaf'. However UUP MLA Andy Allen, who sits on the Assembly Commission, described a 'technical Bill' to deal with the process of how salaries and pensions are set. Closing the debate Sinn Fein MLA Sinead Ennis slammed what she termed 'inaccuracies and misunderstandings' over the Bill. She also warned that if the Bill did not pass the Assembly 'will have failed' to ensure legal clarity and leave no structure in place to determine the salaries and pensions of MLAs. 'In passing this Bill today, future discussions and decisions around the salaries and pensions of members will shift to the independent remuneration board,' she told MLAs. 'That board has independence in deciding what factors it wants to consider before determining its view on the appropriate level of salaries and pensions for members. 'That is the appropriate way of dealing with these matters.'
Western Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Western Telegraph
Stormont MLA Remuneration Board Bill passes despite opposition
The Assembly Members (Independent Remuneration Board) Bill will establish a new independent board to determine salaries and pensions for MLAs. It will replace the previous Independent Financial Review Panel which has been defunct for a number of years. TUV MLA Timothy Gaston claimed the Bill is 'nothing more than a vehicle to enable MLAs to award themselves' with a pay rise (Liam McBurney/PA) Currently, the basic salary for an MLA is £51,500, but this can rise with position including chairing some committees or serving as a minister, with the First and deputy First Ministers receiving a salary of £123,500. A report alongside the Bill showed MLA salaries are lower than those received by Members of the Scottish Parliament (£72,196), Assembly Members at the Welsh Assembly (£72,057) and Members of the Irish Parliament (113,679 euros/£94,537). The Bill, put forward by the Assembly Commission, was passed by an oral vote by MLAs on Monday, with the sole MLAs representing the TUV and People Before Profit both opposing the Bill. TUV MLA Timothy Gaston claimed it is 'nothing more than a vehicle to enable MLAs to award themselves a substantial pay rise', and objected to former MLAs being entitled to sit on the new board. People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll also criticised that former MLAs could sit on the board, and said that a pay rise for MLAs amid 'rising rates of poverty' would be 'completely tone deaf'. However UUP MLA Andy Allen, who sits on the Assembly Commission, described a 'technical Bill' to deal with the process of how salaries and pensions are set. Closing the debate Sinn Fein MLA Sinead Ennis slammed what she termed 'inaccuracies and misunderstandings' over the Bill. She also warned that if the Bill did not pass the Assembly 'will have failed' to ensure legal clarity and leave no structure in place to determine the salaries and pensions of MLAs. 'In passing this Bill today, future discussions and decisions around the salaries and pensions of members will shift to the independent remuneration board,' she told MLAs. 'That board has independence in deciding what factors it wants to consider before determining its view on the appropriate level of salaries and pensions for members. 'That is the appropriate way of dealing with these matters.'
Time of India
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Tata's JLR slashes FY26 EBIT margin guidance to 5–6% on higher EV investment, product transition
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the UK-based luxury carmaker owned by Tata Motors , has significantly lowered its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin guidance for FY26 to 5–6%, from the previously stated 10%, as it gears up for a year of high capital investment, model changeovers, and an accelerated push toward electrification. The revised outlook was shared as part of the company's Investor Day presentation on June 16, where top executives outlined their medium-term roadmap and strategic priorities. CEO Adrian Mardell described FY26 as a 'year of transformation,' driven by planned launches of new-generation vehicles and the start of production of key electric models. These developments, he said, will exert pressure on margins and cash flows in the short term but are essential to setting the business up for sustainable growth. The lower margin forecast is attributed to several overlapping factors—elevated capital expenditure, working capital outflows linked to model changeovers, and upfront costs related to electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing readiness across plants. The company expects capex to rise to £3.5 billion in FY26, compared to £3.2 billion in FY25. This spike will fund tooling, product development, and upgrades to manufacturing sites, including the Halewood plant, which is being converted into JLR's first all-electric facility. With its multi-architecture strategy encompassing MLA, EMA and the new JEA platforms, JLR is betting on a flexible approach to transition its portfolio. The first pure-electric Range Rover is expected to roll out in 2025, while an all-new electric Jaguar GT, built on the bespoke JEA architecture, will follow in 2026. Jaguar will become an electric-only brand by then, focusing on high-performance, low-roof GTs priced upwards of £100,000. Even as FY26 is expected to be a transition year, the company reiterated confidence in its long-term targets. By FY27, JLR aims to achieve EBIT margins of over 10%, free cash flows of more than £2 billion, and revenue per unit above £80,000, up from around £71,000 in FY25. The management views the current investment phase as a necessary step to unlock this future value. CFO Richard Molyneux said that despite the near-term margin compression, the business model is designed to generate operating leverage once the new models ramp up and premiumisation gathers pace. JLR's four-brand strategy—spanning Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Jaguar—remains central to its premium positioning. The company is focused on developing unique identities, customer experiences, and design languages for each brand while continuing to drive average transaction values through special editions and bespoke offerings. Products like the Range Rover SV and Defender 130 have helped JLR increase pricing power, a trend the company expects to continue. Operationally, JLR ended FY25 on a strong note. Wholesales excluding the China JV grew by 25% to 401,000 units, while EBIT margins improved to 8.5% from 4.9% in the previous year. Net debt declined to £0.7 billion, and the company is on track to become net debt-free by the end of FY25. Liquidity stood at £5.3 billion, providing a buffer for the high-spend year ahead. While the FY26 guidance reset has tempered short-term investor expectations, analysts say JLR's strategic direction remains sound. The coming year will test the company's ability to execute on its product, EV, and brand strategies under tighter margins, but the broader narrative of transformation and premium-led growth remains intact.
