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The NDP caucus is holed up in Banff for a retreat, although Premier Rachel Notley’s government is not in retreat at all.

Rather, the government is advancing on many fronts, throwing off strong hints of what’s coming in the fall budget.

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Under consideration is a “shock-absorber” package which the New Democrats will trumpet as vital to create jobs when so many are vanishing, and get things built when costs are falling.

Key to this enterprise is David Dodge, former governor of the Bank of Canada, who was hired by Notley to advise the province on the scope and financing of Alberta’s capital needs.

Dodge has been providing the premier, her treasury board, and senior officials with a steady stream of advice since he was hired in June.

When asked, Dodge writes papers on specific subjects. His general views will be released as a companion paper when the full budget is released in late October.

Apparently there’s to be no big report that the government would be in the position of accepting or rejecting. It would quickly become a political target. The NDP is simply folding Dodge’s running counsel into the larger plan.