[Dion]

NDP critic Dave Eggen said it's difficult to fathom how a province leading the nation in economic growth, with a rising population, the lowest unemployment rate, and oil in the $90-a-barrel range can't balance the books.

"What this minister is saying this morning doesn't make any sense," said Eggen.

"We have an economy that's growing and yet the government can't manage to balance the budget or have adequate revenue to fund the programs that Albertans need."

In a news release, Liberal leader Raj Sherman call the government's spending plans a "fudget budget."

"Redford made irresponsible spending promises before the election to buy votes; she predicted overly rosy resource revenues and can’t get her spending priorities in check. It was always a recipe for a fiscal disaster.”

Scott Hennig of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said what was not in the budget update was more telling than what it contained.

Hennig noted the update report broke sharply from past practice. The report contained few numbers and almost none of the supporting data that would allow the public to understand how the government arrived at its numbers and projections.

The government also cancelled the customary technical briefing for reporters. Such briefings allow journalists to talk off the record to department officials to better understand the minutiae and the context of the data before asking questions of the finance minister.

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/arti...revenue-slumps