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Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark suggested the government should recall the legislature to address the economic crisis.

“Albertans deserve to see the NDP government’s plan a lot sooner than the end of October,” Clark said.

In Calgary, Finance Minister Joe Ceci acknowledged Tuesday that Alberta families are being hurt by the economic downturn, but maintained his government will wait until the fall to launch its plan to bolster the economy.

The strategy is expected to include a tax credit for job creators and an economic stimulus package.

“We’re really just trying to be sure we can deliver on all the things we said we would deliver,” he told reporters. “I wish it could be sooner than October, but … we have telegraphed for a long time that’s when it will be and it’s going to be then.”

Ceci said he has asked government ministers to eliminate duplication in their departments and to operate them as efficiently as possible, but to also ensure any cuts they make don’t affect front-line services.

The finance minister also suggested more tax hikes could be required to address a deficit that could top $6.5 billion this year if oil prices don’t rebound soon.

“At the end of the day if there needs to be additional revenue generated to address the shortfall in funding, we’ll be looking at those and bringing those forward in the fall budget,” Ceci said.

“One tax we’re not going to be touching ever is the PST. We campaigned on that. We’ll keep that commitment.”