Heads up

An election was narrowly avoided last month when Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff agreed to collaborate, in a sense, on changes stemming from the Harper government's most recent economic update to Members of Parliament.

Amongst the subjects they will be looking at are revisions to Employment Insurance - a matter dear to the hearts of many throughout the province dealing with a poor fishing season.

While that election buzz has been subdued for the time being, as Parliament is closed for the summer months, who is to say what might come about when politicians return to Ottawa in the fall.

As has been the case for a number of years, discourse on the Hill has taken a nasty turn, with mudslinging and name calling having become common Ottawa hijinks. People could write at length trying to comb through Parliament's ledger trying to figure out who started it, but suffice to say all sides have taken their shoots.

A poll conducted by EKOS and released to the CBC on June 18 had Liberal support pegged at 33.7 per cent versus 32.4 per cent support for Prime Minister Harper's Conservatives. This was a small drop for the Liberals from two months earlier in a poll conducted by the same company.

The continued closeness in polls between the two parties suggests it might be a long time before Canada witnesses the return of a majority government in Parliament. Nevertheless, do not think for a second that will stop an election from happening before the end of this year.

The Liberals have built a substantial lead in polling for Ontario and Quebec, the two provinces known to hold significant sway in deciding which political party forms the federal government. This fact alone, if it holds up come the fall, might be enough to convince them to pull the trigger on an election.

A few months may or may not change the minds of Canadians regarding whether they want to return to the polls so soon after the previous election last fall. Right now, it seems clear people do not want one.

So, all this said, is the general public prepared to even consider voting for an election based on what has happened since the last one? In a short period of time, judging the performance of those in government is a tricky predicament.

Did you see change in your community? Was your Member of Parliament vocal about the issues that mattered to you? Does a political party's ideals fall in line with your own?

These are some of the questions voters might need to think about over the summer and heading into the fall.

Summer months are warm and hot, which makes people thirsty. When Parliament returns in the fall, it seems highly likely the Liberals will be thirsty for power.

- Reprinted from The Beacon, Gander.