Many people believe that Alberta has a conservative government, "conservative" being defined here as supportive of smaller government and lower taxes.

Conservatives across Canada fondly remember Ralph's Revolution, which actually shrunk the size of government in the mid-1990s, and laid a new foundation for Alberta's prosperity.

But revolutions die with a whimper, not a bang. The journey from a lean, efficient administration to "my big, fat Alberta government" has been long and slow. It is difficult to isolate one single event that made it clear that Alberta's Conservatives are no longer conservative.

Was it the $641 million tax increase that Premier Klein slapped Albertans with six months ago, breaking his pre-election promise that "the only way taxes are going is down"? Was it the 10% after-inflation raise and the very fat severance pay packages which MLAs secretly voted themselves in August of 2001?

Was it the government's refusal to challenge the size of the lawyers' bills in the Goddard-Day defamation action, thereby forcing taxpayers to cough up $792,000 to settle a $60,000 claim?

Was it the double-digit pay increases for public sector workers, given in lieu of helping all Albertans with a cut to personal income tax?

Was it the government's capitulation and surrender to the Alberta Teachers' Association earlier this year? Was it the government's failure to support citizens' initiative legislation that would have empowered taxpayers with the right to initiate and vote in referendums on important issues?

Was it the recent announcement that government ministries can start incurring debt for infrastructure projects?

Or is it simply the 52% spending increase on government programs in just six years, compared to Alberta's 12% population growth and 14% inflation during the same period?

If program spending since 1996 had risen to keep pace with Alberta's population growth and inflation, provincial taxes would be $3.2 billion lower today. Speaking practically, that would mean a personal income tax rate of 3% instead of the current 10%. But instead, Alberta spent more on government programs in 2001, per person, than any province in Canada.

Nothing quite compares to the joy of spending other people's money. Letting taxpayers keep a greater share of their own earnings is no fun.

Better the satisfaction of receiving gratitude from the multitude of special interest advocates, who are never short of proposals on how to spend the fruit of another's labour.

Like a naïve spouse who ignores the odd-coloured lipstick on the white collar of her husband's shirt, so there are some conservatives in Alberta who want desperately to believe that their government has remained faithful to taxpayers. Like her, they would rather avoid the pain and disappointment that will surely follow if tough questions are asked.

Whether or not Alberta's government strays even further from its former philosophy remains to be seen. Finance Minister Patricia Nelson is now speaking about a "new fiscal framework" to bring a welcome end to Alberta's notorious "roller coaster" budgeting.

For decades, unpredictable fluctuations in oil and gas prices have resulted in "stop-and-start" funding for infrastructure, transportation and all government programs.

But henceforth all oil and gas revenues will go into a new fiscal stabilization fund, from which the government will be allowed to spend $3.5 billion each year, a number close to the historic average. This move towards fiscal stability has been applauded by municipalities, the construction industry, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Alberta's Official Opposition Liberals, and other quarters.

Unfortunately, the "new fiscal framework" contains nothing to protect taxpayers from the high-spending habits of their big, fat Alberta government.

The plan is to continue spending 100% of oil and gas revenues, leaving 0% for future generations. Further, the plan would allow government spending to continue growing faster than Alberta's population growth and inflation. The plan will also continue to allow politicians unfettered discretion to raise taxes (and introduce new taxes) without having to consult Albertans in a referendum.

But the plan isn't final, yet. As new legislation is being drafted this fall, a small window of opportunity still exists for taxpayers to tell Alberta's government to reverse its errors of the past six years.

There will always be some Albertans who believe, no matter what, that their government is conservative. Whether their number grows larger or smaller will depend on whether Alberta's big, fat government passes legislation to control its own growth and to protect taxpayers.