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The racket over Bill 24 will seem like a bluebird’s song compared with the coming uproar over the next NDP budget.

The annual fiscal plan is being created even now in treasury board meetings and private sessions with ministers and officials. Next spring, it will be unveiled to an attentive province.

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This budget will provoke another almighty battle between Premier Rachel Notley’s crew and Jason Kenney’s UCP Opposition. For the New Democrats, it could be key to revival and even survival.

Everybody, including the NDP, knows budgeting priorities have to change radically to avoid a major debt crisis about five years down the road.

The current budget carries a deficit of $10.5 billion for the fiscal year 2017-18.

Interest payments on debt will be $1.4 billion. Of that, $639 million goes to service debt incurred for operating expenses — simply running the government.

These interest payments will soon top $2 billion. Total debt is climbing inexorably toward $70 billion by 2020.