NZ - Anti-fluoride group told campaign broke rules

Local anti-fluoride advocates say their campaign hit a major roadblock earlier this month that forced them to stop disseminating materials to people just weeks before a vote on the future of water fluoridation in Owen Sound.

Dr. David Ward of Fluoridation Free Owen Sound said the group learned from city hall Oct. 7 — while a member was inquiring about advertising during an election — that the Municipal Elections Act requires all individuals, corporations and trade unions wishing to spend money to encourage electors to vote yes or no to a question on a ballot to register with the city clerk by Sept. 12. Failure to do so could result in a $25,000 fine.

Ward said the group was unaware of the rule and, once it was brought to their attention and upon receiving their own legal advice, they immediately stopped handing out their anti-fluoride literature and buttons and took down signs they had posted in several downtown storefronts.

“People are frightened. If you hear a $25,000 fine, people can’t afford that. So it gave an immediate cessation to those efforts,” he said Tuesday in an interview.

While the fluoridation opponents are still talking with voters, canvassing the community and writing letters to local media to get their message out, Ward said a big part of their campaign was killed just three weeks before election day.

The Grey Bruce Health Unit, meanwhile, which has launched a campaign in support of water fluoridation, is not subject to the same rules. The agency was told last spring, after sending an inquiry to city hall, that boards of health do not have to register as a campaigning party under the Municipal Elections Act......