Juxtaposition

Unintentional setup...

Ultimately, any evaluation of a government's fiscal responsibility should include its willingness to make effective investments that carry a short-term cost and its prudence in avoiding unnecessary long-term liabilities - not merely any single-year balance sheet. And we'll be left to pay the eventual price if we fail to demand that broader view.

...meet unfortunate punchline:

On Friday, the government released its third-quarter financial report, projecting the province will finish the 2012-13 fiscal year with a pre-transfer surplus of $8.8 million in its general revenue fund. However, that’s a decrease of $86.2 million from what was forecast in the budget.

Finance Minister Ken Krawetz called it a balanced budget — despite dipping into coffers other than the general revenue fund. The government will draw an additional $120 million dividend from the Crown Investments Corporation (CIC).