Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who appeared to be doing his best Mats Sundin (will he or won't he?) impression, last week said, "If I don't think (Parliament) can be productive, then obviously it's my responsibility to make sure the people of Canada can elect a Parliament that can proceed."

Why Harper feels Parliament has suddenly become dysfunctional remains unclear. For the past several months MPs have enjoyed their summer vacation. Prior to that, the governing Tories managed to push through much of their agenda as the Liberals simply stomped their feet and then either backed the legislation or chose not to vote on it at all.

There's nothing like an Opposition party and the Liberals have, thus far, been nothing like an Opposition party.

True, the Tories have passed the usual best-before expiry date of 18 months for a typical minority government, but if the voters are clamoring for another day at the polls Harper must be the only one hearing their cries.

What makes this likely election call even more confounding is that Harper admits Canadians can expect more of the same -- a minority government.

"I think that's the reality of the current political climate," he said last week.

Public opinion polls of late indicate he's right -- with the Liberals and Tories in a virtual tie with public support in the 32 per cent range while the NDP and Green Party bring up the rear with support fluctuating in the mid-teens.

So why, if little is likely to change and a fixed election date is already in place for October 2009, do we need an election this fall?

Perhaps the prime minister knows something we don't -- or perhaps not.