Flaherty is the front man for a Conservative election push

Exactly. What's the hurry? Flaherty's latest stunt is to give three hours notice to the House of Commons with the intention to change the 30 October Parliamentary Schedule to allow him to present a budget economic update... in the House of Commons.

Flaherty had wanted to present the economic statement in the House of Commons. But changing the House schedule on one day's notice requires the unanimous consent of all parties, and the NDP has refused, calling the late-notice announcement a political stunt.

That's exactly what it is. So how did the little weasel respond?

"If I can't do it in the House of Commons because of the NDP, then I'll do it somewhere else," Flaherty told reporters.

Really? How about providing that update where it's normally done - in front of the Commons Finance Committee? It's not a budget; it's an update.

CBC-TV's senior parliamentary editor, Don Newman, noted that the last time an economic update was delivered in the House of Commons — rather than before the House of Commons finance committee — was Oct. 18, 2000. That economic statement included large tax cuts.

Days later, the governing Liberals called a general election.

This is more than a little curious. In fact, I agree with Steve: This looks like a maneuver to force an election.