Hundreds of people are expected to march to the legislature on Saturday to protest cuts to public services.

The rally is being organized by "Join Together Alberta," a coalition of unions and social groups.

Bill Moore-Kilgannon, a spokesman for the group, said the Stelmach government's budget hurts the vulnerable and helps the oil and gas industry — for example, by nearly doubling provincial money for a deep well enhancement program.

"At the same time," he said, "they're trying to justify cutting $28 million out of child intervention services. I'm sorry, child intervention services is vital. These are children who are being physically or sexually abused."

Mary Anne Jablonski, Alberta's seniors minister, said it's wrong to suggest politicians aren't aware of the impact of their decisions.

"We do it with a lot of discussion and consulting, and you know what? In a lot of cases — in my case for sure — it's the last thing we would do because we do know it could hurt someone."

Saturday's protest will involve two marches — one from the Shaw Conference Centre where the Alberta College of Social Workers in holding its annual conference; the other from Grant MacEwan University by high school students worried about cuts to education spending.

The marches will converge at the Alberta legislature. Marchers will carry a long fabric banner with messages from people who attended 22 town hall meetings around the province organized by the "Join Together Alberta" campaign.