The budgetary process

Finance Minister Tom Marshall is waiting for his budget to arrive:

Budget To Arrive Soon
April 21, 2008

There is still no date set for this year's provincial budget. However, Finance Minister Tom Marshall, says it's not too far from completion, and they still plan to unveil the document before month's end. He says there are still some details to be finalized and when that is done the date will be announced.

(The FinMin waits for the budget to arrive? The date of the budget — passive mood alert — will be announced? What, exactly does Tom Marshall's job description as Finance Minister entail?)

There surely can't be too many of those details to finalize, other than, say, the number of mammography units:

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, I can inform the hon. member opposite that two months ago, back in February, we had already approved in the upcoming Budget – I don’t want to scoop the minister, but it is important information - some considerable time ago we have already approved mammography units. The number I cannot tell you exactly but it has already been approved.

Back in February, We approved.

What else did We approve back in February?

And what, then, was the point of all these "consultations", besides, of course, trotting out the Debt Clock?