Election time is upon us again

The PM is set to dissolve Parliament this week, which would, among other things, kill three federal byelections, including one in Westmount-Ville Marie. What it will also likely do is send Canadians to the polls just to get another minority government, unfortunately.

Where would that put us, the voters?

Harper's Conservatives and their environmental policies still have yet to convince green-conscious voters in Quebec and Ontario, and Dion's Green Shift plan is unwieldy and isn't easy to explain or understand. Neither the government nor the opposition has done enough to show voters they deserve a majority.

Why the rush? Canada's economy isn't booming, but it isn't falling into recession, either. There are no current 'burning issues' other than the environment, but it probably isn't in the Tories' best interests to turn this campaign into a national referendum on an opposition plan.

No, Harper wants a majority, and being the smart politician he is, he thinks he can get it. Others aren't so sure. Opinion polls are mostly split between the two parties and frankly, Canadians have shown that after the sponsorship scandal, a few checks and balances are in the country's best interest.

It's going to be a long time before the voters trust just one party with our federal tax dollars. Harper's Conservatives have shown themselves to be relatively trustworthy with the public purse, but still, it's early yet.

The Conservatives have inroads to make in Quebec and Ontario, and locally, they appear to have worked themselves back into local voters' hearts and minds, with challengers Andrea Paine in Lac St. Louis and Pierre-Olivier Brunelle in Pierrefonds-Dollard set to give incumbents Francis Scarpaleggia and Bernard Patry decent races, as well as Public Works Minister Michael Fortier, who is looking to unseat Bloc MP Meili Faille in Vaudreuil-Soulanges.

The Vaudreuil-Soulanges riding can be tricky. Remember when Marc Garneau ran for the Liberals there in 2006? It didn't go well, and Garneau has since sought a safe Liberal riding to call home.

The government and the opposition both have a lot of work to do in order to convince voters they should be handed the keys to the country through a majority government, but they have even more work to do to convince voters that we actually need to head to the ballots.