On Friday, Canada's Parliament will vote on the country's Budget - a vote the opposition parties have said they will oppose, and which the country's minority government is expected to lose. Which means a snap election. Unless of course the Prime Minister repeats his 2008 trick - since adopted by tinpot democracies across the Pacific - of proroguing Parliament to avoid the vote.
As for the immediate cause, it's pretty good:
A parliamentary committee ruled on Monday that Mr Harper's government had acted in contempt of Parliament by hiding details of the full costs of spending on tougher crime legislation, corporate tax cuts and plans to purchase stealth fighter jets.Here, the government is required to keep honest books and not lie to the people about the state of its finances. In Canada, not so much. And hopefully Stephen Harper will be paying the price for his lies tomorrow.It was the first such contempt ruling in Canada's history.
