One midsummer's election morn .... (in Canada)

I, unequivocably, desire a Canadian federal election. I don't care that the party I most despise is up in the polls, to the detriment of my current choice. I am not overly concerned that they may get back in, this time with a majority mandate. I don't care that people will 'blame' Stephen Harper for bringing this apocalypse upon us; and during Summer - egad!

I want this election for the principle of the thing. Stephen Harper said he would do what he could to put this government out of its misery - I, for one, cannot stomach to watch it (and all of Canadian democracy by extension) writh in pain any/much longer.

We are a democracy, and I want to see Canadians fight for it through the only real opportunity we have to show what our desires for self-governance are. People can complain all they like about it only being a year since the last one; as a result of our last foray into an election, we elected a weak minority government - accept that this situation is inheritantly unstable and was always likely to result in another election within 18 months. There are no external realities that offer any compelling argumentation as to why we should wait - Gomery, if truly independent, will continue, and will report around the time initially established. The only plausible environment in which this wouldn't happen is if the Liberals somehow were to shut his inquiry down (no other party has any interest in doing so).

Now - I realize that practically, a lot of conservative-types don't like the idea of an election now because the polls alluva sudden are against us. This is precisely the time to show that there is integrity and credibility behind what Harper said earlier - it is not simply about his desire to replace the Liberals, it is also very much about our desire to free Canadians from the scum that is the current government. If people want to vote them back in, so be it - at least, in light of the many things that we've seen since last election, we can honestly say we're getting what we deserve.

As a concession to conservative types, consider the following tactically:

First, acting on integrity (when it's genuine) is generally apparent;
Second, Martin's arguments are being cut out from under his feet;
- public health care is no longer a sacred cow; with this argument coming from the Liberals' favorite authority/reference source;
- PM's 'free votes' amount to a whipped Cabinet (because it's a Charter right, stupid!), but not backbenchers, because their votes are not needed to pass PM's pet legislation; full debate of a stunning social change is not needed, so the legislation "can be passed before Summer"; provincial court decisions do not need to be appealed and defended despite a vote overwhelmingly affirming marriage a mere 5 years ago;
- PM's democratic renewal consists of bribing opposition MP's; of ignoring rules and conventions until a favorable situation can be manipulated to keep him in power;
- PM's fiscal prudence consists of spending vast amounts of our tax money to keep himself in power longer;
- updates will be added; feel free to drop any in the comments.

UPDATE: The other thing I should mention is that I'm entirely in favour of fixed election dates - I don't like to be as cynical about the political process as I currently am. If we remove the ability to manipulate the election date to suit a party's (any party) chances, it behooves on all parties to clean up their acts, at least as election dates approach.

UPPITY DATE: Let's just at least think about reworking the whole Canadian Senate while we're at it, okay? Triple E is a great idea - if we're serious about being a federation of as many provinces as we have, there should be some equal playing field in the process that is not dependent on population. As an interesting aside, before anyone accuses this little Albertan/Westerner of seeking provincial power: Alberta is one of 10 provinces, and also has about 10% of Canada's population (this proportion almost certainly to increase in the years to come) - either way, we deserve 10% of Senate appointments. In the long run, we probably stand to lose more power than our population would otherwise be entitled to with EEE. If provinces cannot receive equal representation in one of the Houses, then our provinces aren't being treated as equal entities. Your thoughts?