Coal I The Stockings Of Those Who Voted For Change...

..Christina forgot Dulltoon giving us possibly the next mayor of toronto.

Grits put out the trash

Government tries to bury bad news over holidays

By CHRISTINA BLIZZARD, TORONTO SUN

While Prime Minister Stephen Harper was being soundly berated by critics as weighty as The Economist for "proroguing" -- or ending the parliamentary session -- just what was Premier Dalton McGuinty up to?

Funny you should ask.

While everyone was telling Harper he was a naughty boy, McGuinty was being far more sneaky -- and getting away with it.

While we were preoccupied with visions of sugar plums over the holidays, McGuinty's Liberals were tiptoeing some controversial items out the door, no doubt hoping we'd all be so besotted with booze and food we wouldn't notice.

In an act of pure cowardice on Dec. 22, with the Legislature on a break, Education Minister Kathleen Wynne announced the fall report card would be axed.

Parents will get only a "progress report" on their children. No grades. That's a cop-out, because if your child needs help, parents need to know sooner rather than later.

So the government has, once again, caved in to the powerful teacher unions. But it's Christmas, so we'll forget about it.

Then there were two payouts as a result of legal actions.

On Christmas Eve, we learned Santa had stuffed the stocking of the former head of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp, (OLG), Kelly McDougald, to the tune of almost $750,000.

McDougald announced in September she was suing the province for $8.8 million for wrongful dismissal after being canned in August amid allegations taxpayers funded swanky dinners and lavish trips at the OLG.

Sure, the settlement was small potatoes compared to the lawsuit, but it's still a hefty chunk of change for us mere mortals who toil in the private sector.

Just before New Years, the government slid by its settlement with a Caledonia family that has been terrorized by protesters in the ongoing aboriginal stand-off in that town.

For weeks, we'd heard horrific details in a court case in Hamilton. This innocent family was victimized -- forced to show special native "passports" to get into their own home -- and OPP officers apparently permitted the abuse.

ABOUT TO TESTIFY

The surprise settlement came just as OPP officers were due to testify at the trial.

Now we can only speculate what their testimony would have been.

Remember the McGuinty Liberals constantly harping about political interference in the Ipperwash stand-off? Now we will never know if cops believed there was political interference in Caledonia because they've been silenced. No testimony.

Just shut-up -- and pay up. You thought there was one law for all? Forget it.

Meanwhile, the government managed to send out press releases trumpeting their Jan. 1 tax break. But no release on Caledonia.

Look, McGuinty isn't the first politician to dump unpopular news when he hopes no one is looking. He won't be the last. Journalists call it putting out the trash.

And you always put it out when no one's looking: Late Friday afternoon. Christmas Eve. New Year.

Meanwhile, we're all over Harper. Why? Because he used a legitimate procedural instrument that governments use all the time. I expect the Liberals will prorogue this session at Queen's Park soon -- and no one will blink. Nor should they.

What's galling is when governments try to bury important issues. It's like looking for the dime in the Christmas pudding. You have to watch carefully, or it will choke you.

McGuinty needs to quit these Christmas capers -- cold turkey.