Ready for an election?

Me neither!

But, it looks as though there will be a spring election.

While Prime Minister Harper keeps referring to it as an election “that Canadians do not want,” I think he is looking forward to it.

First of all, it casts Liberal leader Michael Ignatief in the role of instigator.

Ignatief has been calling for the government to be defeated since taking over as leader of the Liberal Party following Stephane Dion's resignation. He has been making near-constant overtures on the Harper government’s incompetence, and calling for it to be toppled.

In the latest round of increasingly desperate tactics, Ignatief has been decrying the government’s lack of ethics.

In all fairness, it has been difficult to deny his claims. Harper’s caucus has been plagued by scandals of varing severity; none, taking individually, have been serious enough to bring the government down, but collectively they suggest that there are problems within the Conservative caucus, such as:

• the Helena Guergis / Rahim Jaffer affair
  
• the Jason Kenney letterhead kerfuffle
  
• withholding documents requested by Parliamentary committees
  
• the Bev Oda “NOT” incident
  

Iggy has apparently taken great delight in citing these and other scandals, but has he also forgotten his own party’s less-than-illustrious recent past?

I don’t think the voters have forgotten AdScam, and the names Jean Pelletier, Alfonso Gagliano, and Chuck Guité, nor have many voters forgotten Jean Chrétien’s promise to repeal the GST.

No, the Liberals don’t have the moral high ground, however much Iggy wags his fingers at the Conservatives.

In the latest incident, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs found the Harper government to be “in contempt of Parliament.”

It’s not that I don’t agree with the committee – it certainly seems as though the Conservatives have been manipulating the rules to their advantage – but I question the committee’s impartiality.

The committee's recent hearing into the question of “the failure of the Government to fully provide the documents as ordered by the House,” found that the government’s actions “constitutes a contempt of Parliament.”

There are six Conservatives sitting on the twelve-member committee, which is co-chaired by a Conservative member, with three Liberals, one NDP, and two Bloc MPs comprising the remainder of the committee.

But the fact that a Liberal attack ad confirming the committee’s findings was being broadcast the same day as the committee’s findings were released suggests, to me, that the results were a foregone conclusion.

In fact, the Conservative member's "dissenting opinion" summary offers a number of instances of Liberals attempting to influence the outcome, including one member stating that "the Opposition’s ultimate goal of the committee hearings was to find the Government in contempt of Parliament."

[Read the report.]

As I see it, neither party has any claim to the moral high ground.

For their part, the Bloc and the NDP could care less whether or not there is an election. Neither party has any hope of forming the federal government, although they both stand to gain a few seats – and the funding that goes with them – if the Conservatives falter.

I’ve read a lot of comments, on this site and others, decrying Harper as a “dictator” and blaming the Conservatives for what they perceive as a declining standard of living.

I’ve also read comments and opinion from those who see Canada as being on track, financially, and making it through the recession relatively unscathed.

My question to Harper’s dissenters is simple: would we really be any better off under an Ignatief government?

Scandals aside, I think we’ve done pretty well under Harper’s leadership.

Where things have fallen apart is at the centre of our political institution: Parliament.

Right now, it doesn’t matter which party sits to the Speaker’s right. Those who sit opposite them – the “Opposition” – have only one goal: to see the government defeated and take the reins of power themselves.

That is not the Opposition’s role, although you wouldn’t know this by watching the antics in the House.

The Opposition is there for a number of purposes:

1. to ensure that government programs are in the best interest of all Canadians.
2. to be guardian of the public purse; to see that there is not waste and overspending on these government programs.
3. to represent their constituents.

They are not there simply to overthrow the sitting government and force an unwanted – and expensive -- election.

Perhaps the “contempt” finding, and the resulting non-confidence motion that will – most likely – see us going to the polls this Spring will stir things up enough, and start Parliament on the path back to respectability.

Maybe, whatever the outcome of the election, our politicians will give some though to acting with the dignity and decorum that Parliament deserves.

If nothing else, perhaps this election will put an end to the ongoing efforts of the Liberals to overthrow the Conservatives.

Because, like them or not, I can’t see the Conservatives losing this election.

Like him or not, Harper’s popularity is reasonably high – 13 points higher than Layton, and 18 points higher than Ignatief. Likewise the Conservatives are 11 points up on the Liberals, and 19 points ahead of the NDP.

That’s not a lock on the election, but it puts the Harper Conservatives in a good position heading into an election.

Some pundits are suggesting that Harper managed to dupe the Opposition into forcing an election. After all, he presented a budget, and is showing that his government has plans for the future.

By moving non-confidence and bringing the government down, the Opposition will be seen as the instigators, unwilling to find a way to work with the government and seeking to oust them from power for their own gain.

It’s my opinion that Harper will handily win this election, emerging with either a very strong minority government, or even a slight majority.

I don't really want an election, but it looks like we're having one. Whatever happens, I will accept the results. That is the whole point of democracy.

What I am not looking forward to, however, is the campaign.

I’ve said this before, and I will say it again: election campaigns are far too long! What makes them worse is that we will hear very little about what one party or another will do for us.

What we will hear is one party telling us why we shouldn’t vote for another party.

If you want to sell me something – a burger, a soft drink, a new car – please do not tell me why I shouldn’t buy the other guy’s product. Tell me why your product is right for me.

Likewise, what I want to hear in an election campaign is why I should vote for a particular candidate, or a particular party.

But… that’s just my opinion.