Mississauga South Liberal MP Paul Szabo thinks there will be a federal election "before the summer."
Asked how much longer this amazing minority government of Stephen Harper's can continue to breathe, Szabo issued a sigh down the telephone line from the House of Commons this morning and said, "It's hitting a critical mass."
He was referring to building concern about issues such as the war in Afghanistan, new immigration rules, the Mulroney-Schreiber fiasco he has been monitoring as chair of the Commons ethics committee and the Chuck Cadman vote-buying schmozzle.
The 15-year veteran said the impacts of the slowing economy are beginning to show in the critical provinces of Ontario and Québec and are only likely to get worse in coming months.
"I like our team," says the chartered accountant turned politico. "As far as I know, our platform is very solid."
Didn't mention his leader, by the way.
Election timing is all about good guesswork about what lies ahead. "You have to be anticipating in this game," said Szabo. "You have to throw the ball to where the receiver's going to be."
Sounds like good advice for the government side when you think about Mississauga South. To extend Szabo's analogy, the Conservatives had better get in the huddle pretty soon and approve a nomination date so that their candidate can at least suit up in time for the game.
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Every once in a while a proposal comes along that just makes absolute perfect sense.
Such as moving the archives of the Streetsville Historical Society from the tiny little room where it was stored in the Kinsmen Centre (the former Streetsville town hall and the original Streetsville Grammar School) to the historic Leslie Log House.
Seems that when some renovations were done by the City last summer on the Kinsmen Hall , a new wheelchair accessible washroom was constructed in front of the door to the archives, which were housed in a storage room.
The upshot of the glitch was a review of the need for fresh storage space and a suggestion by Museums of Mississauga Manager Annemarie Hagan that the renovated Leslie Log House be considered.
It was saved on its original site in 1994 and moved to the Pinchin Farm, on the east side of Mississauga Rd. just north of Highway 403.
The City has now set aside $117,000 to refurbish the log house, built by John Leslie in 1824 at the north-west corner of Mississauga and Derry Rds. According to the latest newsletter from the Streetsville Historical Society, Robert Leslie collaborated on the construction of several other famous houses in the area which are also for preservation, such as the Barber House (now a restaurant) on Queen St. S., the Oliver Hammond house on Hammond Rd. in Erindale and Benares in Clarkson.
The log house now looks like it will also become a home for the Streetsville Historical Society itself. That venerable group which is gearing up for the town's 150th birthday, holds its last meeting Thursday night in the Village Hall. That structure is also scheduled to get an upgrade by the City.
A power point presentation about the Leslie Log House will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
To add the final touch to the mix, Harold Leslie, now in his mid-70s and visiting in town from his home in Alberta, will be on hand to talk about his ancestral home.