No. 1: Harper says "parliament isn't working", but really he means "parliament isn't working for me, they won't do what I say". In reality, the majority of the House doesn't like what the Conservatives have to offer, and even so, they made parliament work by passing the budget, despite it including the controversial immigration bill (Bill C-50). Harper wants to run the country in an autocratic manner, and is upset that our democratic process won't allow it.

No. 2: The Conservative government is now running a deficit for the first time in the last eight budgets. Harper knows that the deficit will only get worse with time, so best to speed up elections before bad turns to worse, or at least before Canadians realize what he is doing to the country.

No. 3: Harper is afraid of what will come of the byelections. He wants to have the general election first so as to void the byelections, which polls show he would not win.

No. 4: Conservatives are afraid that the U.S. Democratic party's Barack Obama will win the U.S. election, which will have spill-over effects in Canada, demonstrating the desire for change across North America. Harper knows his power will diminish without his Republican counterpart, and having an election now would guarantee his position for four more years.

No. 5: Harper and the Conservatives want to hold an election now before anyone probes too far into their prior election spending. They are not being upfront with their bookkeeping, and Harper is afraid that eventually someone will make them hand over the books. If what they did is all above board and legal, then we should expect them to hide money again in the next election.

No. 6: Conservatives want to have an election before Canadians realize that the "Green Shift" will not increase the price of gas or taxes. The truth is, all Canadians will be taxed less, not more under the Green Shift plan. An added bonus is that our environment will also benefit.

The time has come to show our Conservative MP and our Conservative government that Canadians can not be duped. Canadians can see the true reasons behind Harper's election push and they know that it only serves in the Conservatives best interest, not that of all Canadians. Canadians can see the mess that the Conservative government has led us into and we want out!

Amy Romagnoli, Grimsby