Canada: Dentists, health unit revive fluoridation issue

By Bryan Meadows - The Chronicle-Journal
September 10, 2005
To add or not to add fluoride — that is the question.

With the help of four dentist offices in Dryden, the Northwestern Health Unit launched a petition this week asking city council to authorize a plebiscite during the 2006 municipal election.

The ballot would ask voters whether fluoride should be added to the municipal water supply to help prevent tooth decay.

The health unit has until next September to get 10 per cent of the city’s population to sign the petition so that the proposal can become a question on the November 2006 ballot, dental consultant Dr. Peter Cooney told The Chronicle-Journal.

Council has rejected the fluoride option twice since 2003. They also rejected an election plebiscite on the issue.

Those decisions came following presentations by Cooney, who explained that most scientific studies support fluoridation, as do many health organizations.

The city’s fluoridation unit broke down in 2001 and wasn’t reactivated due to safety concerns for staff who handled the chemical and the cost of a new system. Before that, fluoride was added to city’s water for more than 40 years.

Mayor Anne Krassilowsky has said “there is so much evidence for and against” fluoridation.

Cooney said the Northwestern Health Unit has noticed an increase in tooth decay among school children in the city since the city quit adding fluoride to the water.

As for concerns about handling the chemical, health unit spokesman Bill Limerick said he considers that “a non-issue.”