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Stelmach confirms Alberta cabinet shuffle, announces early budget

EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach has set the stage for a dramatic spring session by confirming he’ll shuffle his cabinet Wednesday, then table a tight-fisted budget next month.

EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach has set the stage for a dramatic spring session by confirming he’ll shuffle his cabinet Wednesday, then table a tight-fisted budget next month.

Stelmach, whose Tories have been hemorrhaging support to an upstart right-wing rival, would not confirm leaked details of the shuffle.

But he appeared grim at the prospect of calling some of his longtime allies to discuss their departure from cabinet.

“I spent a lot of time thinking through what I heard over the last few weeks,” he said. “This is difficult.It’s not only members of cabinet but of course staff, so we’re going to deal with this in a very compassionate way.”

Leaked details of the shuffle suggest that several key ministers are changing jobs or leaving cabinet, including Alberta’s firebrand Health Minister Ron Liepert and Energy Minister Mel Knight.

Sources told The Canadian Press Tuesday that Liepert will oust Mel Knight as energy minister; Advanced Education Minister Doug Horner will take over the controversial health portfolio; and Ted Morton will get the high-profile Treasury Board post.

Treasury Board President Lloyd Snelgrove is expected to replace George Groeneveld as agriculture minister and Environment Minister Rob Renner is also said to be on his way out of cabinet.

Children and Youth Services Minister Janice Tarchuk is also among those being cut from cabinet to make way for new faces, sources say.

Government insiders say rookies Dianna McQueen and Fred Horn will be among the new cabinet members, along with Doug Griffiths, a fiscal hawk now in his third term.

Stelmach downplayed any suggestion that the shuffle is a policy shift by his Tories in light of dismal poll numbers.

“The polices are good, it’s just that we’ve got to communicate better,” he said.

“Getting out there, consulting with Albertans, giving a very clear message on the direction of government and accepting the fact that we can do a better job and we will.”

Stelmach’s government has been losing ground lately to the two-year-old Wildrose Alliance party, which got a major boost last week when two government members crossed the floor.

The premier brushed off questions about the defection of former cabinet minister Heather Forsyth and backbencher Rob Anderson.

“They made the decision. It’s past us, we’re moving forward,” Stelmach said brusquely.

A recent poll suggests Wildrose now has a significant lead in support over the Stelmach’s Tories, who have been facing widespread criticism, especially over cuts to health care.

The cracks in the Tories’ support are starting to widen.

More than 500 people packed a community meeting Tuesday night in Edmonton and shouted insults at Education Minister Dave Hancock, with some people even calling him a “liar.”

Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith says the ugly tone of the meeting shows the government hasn’t been listening to Albertans, so it’s not just a communications problem.

“Sounds to me pretty clearly that the premier is not going to be changing direction, so regardless of what faces we see emerge after the cabinet shuffle it’s going to be the same old, same old,” Smith said in an interview from Calgary.

“Albertans have already responded quite loudly in public opinion polls that they don’t like the direction the government is going.”

Liberal Opposition Leader David Swann also dismissed the premier’s suggestion that his government can win back voter support with better communications.

Swann says he was at the meeting when the crowd turning on Hancock.

“I’ve never seen a minister more uncomfortable in front of a crowd that was clearly not believing him when he said the government knows where it’s going with health care,” said Swann.

“The tremendous pushback that this minister felt from people who know differently.”

The premier says his government will open a new session of the legislature with a throne speech Feb. 4 followed by a budget on Feb. 9.

“Our government’s goal is to get the budget done so there is certainty for business.”

“There are many issues hinging on the budget.”

Alberta is nearing the end of the current fiscal year with projections of a record deficit of $4.3 billion, a huge turnaround for a province that had 14 straight surplus budgets.

But lower energy prices and the recession have taken a heavy toll on Alberta, leaving the government with some difficult cost-cutting choices.

Stelmach and his ministers have been tight-lipped about how it will balance spending, so many of the much-anticipated cuts are expected to be detailed in the budget.

This will be also the first sitting of the legislature since the recent defection of two dissident Tories who bolted to the Wildrose Alliance.

The Tories still have a lop-sided majority with 68 of 83 seats, while the Wildrose has just three seats. But the poll numbers and Stelmach’s promise to cut $2 billion in red ink from next month’s budget has set the stage for a raucous sitting.