Sudbury council tackles whistleblower protection for city workers

Protecting city whistleblowers will be debated by Sudbury council tonight.

Councillor Joscelyne Landry-Altmann is tabling a motion calling on staff to study how to protect employees who speak out against wrongdoing.

The motion states that this idea was first proposed to city council by city auditor general Brian Bigger two years ago.

Bigger is now on a leave of absence from his job, as he is planning to run for mayor.

However, another mayoral candidate, Dan Melanson, has made a whistleblower policy a key plank in his platform.

Sudbury city council meets for one of the final times before the election next month.

At the end of the week, council will be officially declared "lame duck" and will be restricted from making major decisions, particularly those involving money.

At their meeting on Tuesday, councillors will also discuss a proposal to plow more sidewalks across Greater Sudbury this winter, and will look at a request on the agenda from the hospital asking that city bylaw officers patrol the grounds of Health Sciences North for smokers.