The opposition says a series of ethical problems means the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper cannot be trusted. They also say the federal budget, unveiled on Tuesday, fell far short of what was needed.“We have the responsibility to say clearly and unequivocally that this is a government that has lost the confidence of the House of Commons, it is a government that has lost the confidence of Canadians,” said Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff.Polls show the Conservatives would easily retain power in an election, although they might not win a parliamentary majority.If a majority in the House of Commons backs the Liberal nonconfidence motion on Friday, Harper would then move to have Parliament dissolved, with an election coming on either May 2 or May 9.The opposition wants to fight the election on the issues of government ethics and waste, while the Conservatives will portray themselves as the best managers of the economy.Harper accused the opposition parties of threatening the economy at an uncertain time in its recovery.“Our economy is not a political game. The global recovery is still fragile,” he told reporters, accusing his opponents of wanting to trigger “a needless election.”The budget promised to shrink the federal deficit by a quarter this year and it included small, targeted measures for low-income seniors, the unemployed and businesses.But the plan did not go far enough for the opposition New Democrats, the party that had been viewed as most likely to support the budget and keep Harper in power, and party leader Jack Layton joined the other two opposition parties in promising to vote against it.Last week, police were asked to probe allegations of misconduct by a former top Harper aide. Last month, four Conservative officials were charged with violating financing rules during the 2006 election campaign that brought the party to power.This week, a parliamentary committee slapped the government with the first contempt ruling in Canada’s history, deciding that the Conservatives had hidden the full costs of a spending program. That issue could be debated in Parliament on Wednesday.