Headline:Do they know it's Christmas?

The post-holiday letdown comes early at Queen's Park.

Anyone walking into the main legislative building today is greeted by a most unseasonable sight -- Christmas trees on the grand staircase suddenly stripped bare of their brightly lit decorations.

Could it be some bulbs burned out and the Grinch fetched them to fix in his workshop?

Alas, no. Even the Grinch doesn't come here.

The legislature is so devoid of workers and maintenance staff over the holiday break that the elves file the decorations away before Santa even comes.

As for the cafeteria, it's closed next week too. No matter. Roast beast is a feast we can't stand in the least.

Reports of its passing are premature

Mikki, Premier Dalton McGuinty's family pet, wants to set the record straight -- it's alive and well. The McGuintys used the premier's Web site to deliver this message from their mixed breed pet:

"Some media reports noted my absence from this year’s family holiday photo. Some speculated about my health. Some went so far as to suggest I signed a lucrative contract to make movies in Hollywood. Still, others suggested that I had become spokesdog for a new doggie treat company. In fact, I am alive and well and living in the McGuinty household. The media sometime tend to cling to a good story (the phrase "dog with a bone" comes to mind) and I want to put paws to the speculation so I’m posting this photo of me with Mom and Dad."

Let them eat dented cans of tuna

You can take the person out of the Mike Harris government, but evidently you can't take the Mike Harris government out of the person.

After a single Quebec father of three was fired from his job at Zellers for taking discarded chocolate bars from a garbage bin at a St-Hyacinthe story, the media understandably swarmed on the heartbreaking story.

Guy Masse, 47, had, after all, just gotten off of welfare and had hoped to give the chocolate to his children -- aged 6, 9, and 15 -- for Christmas.

Enter former Harris press secretary Hillary Stauth, who is now a flack for Zellers' parent company, HBC.

"We have more than 70,000 (workers) across Canada. They work so hard especially at this time of year," Stauth told the Canadian Press.

"It's very upsetting that one bad employee tarnished the reputation of everybody else," she concluded.

The surprisingly heartless response recalled when the Harris government's company line was that people on welfare should look for bargains like dented cans of tuna instead of handouts.

You know it's Christmas -- Part 3.....

... And here's a copy of the email just sent out to reporters from the Liberal "war room."

In order for people to better plan their holiday break, you should know that the Liberal Party of Canada's campaign will resume on Monday, January 2.

Over the holidays, the Prime Minister and Mrs. Martin will be involved in family events.

Any activities of a public kind will be appropriate to the season and will be of a local nature.

Best wishes for the holiday season.

You know it's Christmas, Part 2...

The Prime Minister let slip yesterday that he'll be enjoying some Christmas holiday feasting without worrying about his waistline. "I am off it for two weeks. I am not responsible for what I eat," he said during a campaign stop in Gatineau yesterday.

Over the holidays, Martin quipped that he'll be holding the annual "World Championship of Hearts" with his three sons and wife at his farm in Quebec's eastern townships.

"For the nth time in a row I will win massively," Martin said. "Unfortunately, as with some other reporting, my sons will not report my victory," Martin said.

"I'm really looking forward to all of this, as I'm sure all of you are," Martin said about the holiday break.

You know it's Christmas when.....

The Tory campaign plane, leased from Air Canada, was decked out with Christmas lights and holiday decorations - the pilots greeted passengers wearing. Christmas earmuffs - and when it was preparing to leave Winnipeg with a load of exhausted staffers and reporters, one of the pilots came over the intercom to tell the throng to look off the left wing as he entered the de-icing bay. The de-icing boom operator was sporting a Santa Claus hat and a fluffy white beard, and was waving to passengers. Earlier, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper dropped in on the campaign lunch room and - gasp - handed out gifts to the journalists from a bright red pouch. "I guess we're breaking our no-red rule, he laughed. It was a further sign of a thaw in the oft-prickly relationship Harper has with the national press corps. In the interests of full disclosure, each of the journalists accompanying the tour received a box of Laura Secord chocolate.

War and other anti-social antics...

Conservative Gordon O'Connor raised eyebrows Thursday with his comments that Canada's elite commandoes are trained in "anti-social" behaviour and need to be kept strictly disciplined.

There's no doubt that members of Joint Task Force 2 are highly trained in the art of war. But O'Connor wants them moved out of their base at Dwyer Hill, east of Ottawa, and on to a military base shared with other units, apparently to keep them in check.

"I would prefer them to be under iron-tight discipline inside a military base," he told the Ottawa Citizen this week during a visit with their editorial board.

But if anti-social behaviour is such a worry for O'Connor, the Conservatives' defence critic, then military analysts were wondering why his party is proposing to revive the airborne regiment. The military's last airborne regiment, based at Petawawa, was disbanded more than a decade after the torture and murder of a teenager during a mission in Somalia.

Baby Boom Continues at Queen's Park

What the heck are they serving at those Liberal caucus meetings?

Another MPP, Peter Fonseca of Mississauga East, is the proud parent of tiny twins -- with considerable help from his wife Christina Yaremczuk of course.

They don't have to look far for free advice. Environment Minister Laurel Broten from nearby Etobicoke-Lakeshore gave birth to twins in October.

"There must be something in the water at Queen's Park," remarked Fonseca, a former Olympic marathoner who is about to learn some new lessons in endurance.

"It's tiring enough already," he says of the frequent visits to the hospital to see his twin boys.

They were born Dec. 11, with Alexander weighing in at 3.7 pounds and Sebastian at 3.13 pounds. Fonseca expects them to come home from hospital early next month.

"They're small but they're gaining weight," notes Fonseca, who named the smaller boy after famous runner Sebastian Coe.

The other lad is named after Sudbury swimmer Alex Bauman, a gold medallist -- a name chosen by Yaremczuk, head coach of the Oakville Aquatic Club.

Don Guy Unplugged

Don Guy, Premier Dalton McGuinty's low-key chief of staff, is one of the least ebullient people in Canadian politics.

Guy is so restrained he makes federal Conservative Leader Stephen Harper looks like a more affable and effervescent version of Chuckles the Clown. (In fact, he may be the only person in political life in Canada who dislikes and distrusts reporters more than Harper.)

So we were pleasantly surprised to intercept his effusive e-mail announcing changes in the premier's office late Wednesday.

Despite losing well-regarded executive communications director Jim Warren and long-serving strategic manager Meghan Lauber in quick succession Guy put a sunny face on the departures.

"Jim Warren and Meghan Lauber are leaving for new adventures," he enthused in an internal e-mail to press secretaries and other aides.

"First a word about Jim -- Jim is a superb communicator, tactician and political operative -- one of the best I have ever met, but most importantly, he is a good friend. Jim agreed to come for a year to help us re-tool around our communications, some 18 months ago. He and Meghan formed a dynamic one-two punch that led to positive change almost immediately. In August, when his contract came up for renewal, Jim graciously agreed to stay until the new year, and his time with us will come to an end on January 31, 2006. I understand that Jim has an exciting new challenge lined up and will be letting us all know more about it closer to the date of his departure," wrote Guy.

"What can one say about Meghan Lauber? This is one person who has her act together, and she was the perfect point person to provide strategic management of the government's communications program over the past two years. Meghan's capacity for growth has been, and continues to be, unlimited. The thing that has always impressed me about Meg is that she is tough as nails but can light up a room with a smile."

Uh oh....

A long-time Liberal loyalist, standing at the bar at Hy's in Ottawa last night, raised a terrifying thought. Let's hope, he said, that Paul Martin doesn't feel obliged to keep all his promises if he does get re-elected as prime minister.

What??

"Well," the distinguished Laurier Club member explained, "he promised us an election 30 days after Justice John Gomery reports. If Gomery reports on Feb. 1, we could just finish this election and have to start another one."

Another round of drinks was quickly ordered and gulped down. Yikes.