EDMONTON -- Alberta's auditor general says the province didn't break its own rules by delivering a barebones first-quarter budget update last summer.
Merwan Saher says the Government Accountability Act is written so broadly either a brief update or a detailed one could be acceptable.
Saher investigated after Finance Minister Doug Horner delivered the first update on the 2011-12 budget last August without basics such as a balance sheet.
It's when Albertans first learned that a projected deficit for this year would be in the range of $3 billion -- more than three times what was originally predicted.
Opponents suggested the update was nothing more than a brochure and violated Alberta's law to keep citizens informed on what's happening with their money.
Saher says the government provided more details three months later in its second-quarter update, but still should have included a forecast of revenues and expenses.
