Canada - Fluoride debate delayed to Jan. 26
Fluoride debate delayed to Jan. 26
By Jason Markusoff, Calgary Herald January 11, 2011 1:06 AM
Council will delay deciding on the future of fluoride in Calgary's water system until a public hearing later this month, but one aldermen questions whether members' minds are already made up and that a hearing would be largely ceremonial.
Ten of 15 aldermen had lent signatures to a motion Monday that would have ended Calgary's 20 years of fluoridation without any formal public input.
But amid deluges of hundreds of e-mails and calls from across North America on the divisive issue last week, as well as criticism from the mayor, council decided a Jan. 26 hearing will let experts and residents hash out the debate that mixes health, science and ethics.
As they embraced the idea of a hearing, many aldermen expressed their determination to remove the additive from city water -- a juxtaposition Ald. Gael MacLeod found upsetting.
"What is the point of . . . having a debate if no one is listening?" she asked in council.
"The purpose of having a public hearing is to become informed, and what I hear is a lot of council members saying they have the information they want," MacLeod told the Herald later.
"I don't hear much of anything that sounds like people are open to changing their minds or to getting more information."...................
By Jason Markusoff, Calgary Herald January 11, 2011 1:06 AM
Council will delay deciding on the future of fluoride in Calgary's water system until a public hearing later this month, but one aldermen questions whether members' minds are already made up and that a hearing would be largely ceremonial.
Ten of 15 aldermen had lent signatures to a motion Monday that would have ended Calgary's 20 years of fluoridation without any formal public input.
But amid deluges of hundreds of e-mails and calls from across North America on the divisive issue last week, as well as criticism from the mayor, council decided a Jan. 26 hearing will let experts and residents hash out the debate that mixes health, science and ethics.
As they embraced the idea of a hearing, many aldermen expressed their determination to remove the additive from city water -- a juxtaposition Ald. Gael MacLeod found upsetting.
"What is the point of . . . having a debate if no one is listening?" she asked in council.
"The purpose of having a public hearing is to become informed, and what I hear is a lot of council members saying they have the information they want," MacLeod told the Herald later.
"I don't hear much of anything that sounds like people are open to changing their minds or to getting more information."...................
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