Editorial

It was during the height of the Mike Harris' Conservatives Common Sense Revolution in the 1990s that Ontario rolled out the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act.

Coming off a term marked by divisiness, it was refreshing to see Greater Sudbury's new city council work toward a common goal to pass its $514-million budget.

Well, we all know the story. For a month or so, we have been the talk of the province. Political defections, secret recordings, bruised feelings, police investigations and a political swarming. We don’t remember being this popular.

Hand it to the City of Greater Sudbury: where other Canadian municipalities gave into the fear of getting sued and banned it outright, in the Nickel City you can still jump on a sled and shoot down a municipally owned hill at break-neck speed.

The measure of a just society is how it cares for its most vulnerable citizens. Given the experience of scores of families of children with severe disabilities, Ontario is falling short. Very short.

The perception that early childhood educators are little more than babysitters is, in our opinion, completely wrong.

Now that the dust has settled on another municipal election, it’s time for Greater Sudbury’s new council to roll up its sleeves. As tiring as campaigning is, getting elected is the easiest part of the job.

There are some tough choices to make next week when it comes to who will lead Greater Sudbury for the next four years. Our city is at a crossroads and needs a council that is dynamic, progressive, bold and pragmatic.

According to the most recent election poll (detailed on front page), nearly 40 per cent of voters are still on the fence about their choice for Greater Sudbury’s next mayor. That’s OK, for now. But this week, it is time to make some decisions.

For the past two years, and in particular the last couple of weeks, education reporter Heidi Ulrichsen has been following the somewhat strange case of Anita and Dylan Gibson.