The following statement was issued today by Tom Rideout, acting Government House Leader. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

I rise to clarify and correct discussions which took place last week and yesterday in this Honourable House regarding the document which outlines the impacts of the 2004 Budget decisions for each of the province�s electoral districts. A copy of this document was forwarded to members opposite last week.

In compiling the document, every effort was taken by officials to provide the most detailed and accurate information available. This is clearly noted on the first page of the document.

In a $4 billion budget there are hundreds of line items, and unfortunately we have identified minimal inaccuracies. For this we apologize. In particular the ministers of Government Services and Tourism, Culture and Recreation have addressed issues raised concerning their departments. In these cases, the noted items were options which could have been taken by the departments during this difficult budget, but in the final analysis were not chosen.

This is unfortunate since so much work went into ensuring the accuracy of the document prior to finalization in late March. However, let me assure you that the Budget Details and Statistics 2004-2005 is indeed a valid document. It contains useful information for all Members of the House of Assembly on this year�s budget, the majority of which was also communicated by way of news releases and backgrounders posted to the government�s Web site on budget day.

I would be pleased to facilitate answers to questions on any other aspect of the Budget document which members opposite may have.

2004 05 18                                         1:50 p.m.