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UK Against Fluoridation

Monday, February 15, 2010

FLUORIDE ACTION NETWORK Newsletter

FLUORIDE ACTION NETWORK
http://www.FluorideAlert.Org
FAN Bulletin 2011: The Ontario triumvirate and other news items
January 14, 2010
We are sorry you have not received any bulletins from us for some time. We are experiencing some difficulties with our server and not every one on our list is receiving them -including ourselves! We would appreciate it if you did receive this bulletin to send us a simple message - RECEIVED. This way we will be able to get some idea how badly our service has been disrupted. Meanwhile, FAN continues to update our latest news section on a daily basis see http://www.FluorideAlert.org (link in left column on homepage) as well as updating the number of signatories to the crucially important Professionals' Statement calling for an end to fluoridation worldwide. Total now stands at 2720.

Thank you again to all those who made our end of the year fundraising such a successful and exciting event. Our grand total was $47,610.19 from 592 donors. This was the largest amount raised, and the most donors, in FAN's history.

If you contributed and haven't received a DVD, please email Ellen at info@fluoridealert.org with your mailing address and she will send you one.

NEWS ITEMS

1) THE ONTARIO TRIUMVIRATE

According to Wikipedia, a triumvirate (from Latin, "of three men") is a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals. In the case of pushing for fluoridation in Ontario those three men are Dr. Peter Cooney (Chief Dental Office, Health Canada); Dr. Frank Stechey, president of the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO) and Dr. Ira Kirshen, president of the Ontario Dental Association (ODA).

FAN put out in Bulletin 2009, on December 24, 2009, entitled "Chilling Winds from Canada" which suggested that there were moves afoot to introduce mandatory fluoridation into Ontario and the three bodies above were coordinating this effort. This bulletin produced an angry response from Peggi Mace a spokesperson for the RCDSO. We have printed her email below. It would appear that our correspondent in Ontario may have overstated the extent to which the effort to introduce mandatory fluoridation has been formalized by these three bodies, however there is no question that there is,
a) a lot of "cooperation" between these bodies on promoting fluoridation, including joint appearances at public meetings;
b) that at least one of them is calling on the leader of the Province to introduce mandatory fluoridation;
c) all three present only one side of the issue, making exaggerated claims and refusing to back up their claims with citations from the scientific literature when challenged to do so and
d) all three have combined to make Ontario an uncomfortable place to practice dentistry if a dentist holds a different point of view, and expresses his or her views in pubic.

Readers can get a glimpse of the triumvirate in action in the videotaped clips of the Thunder Bay hearings in July, 2009, where Dr. Frank Stechey, Dr. Ira Kirshen and Dr. Peter Cooney, all spoke. If these links are not live in your system please copy in the URLs into your search location.

Clip 1. Here we see Dr. Ira Kirshin recommending that the Ontario premier introduce mandatory fluoridation.

Clip 2. Here we see Dr. Frank Stechey indicating that Ontario dentists would face disciplinary hearings if they argued against fluoridation in public and a citizen complained.

Clip 3. More propaganda from Health Canada's Chief Dental Officer Dr. Peter Cooney

For the record the Thunder Bay Council on July 21, 2009 voted against proceeding any further with the effort to fluoridate Thunder Bay's water.

In the minutes of he RCDSO meeting held on June 4, 2009, we find the following: "Support for Fluoridation- Council approved a joint effort with the leadership of the College and the Ontario Dental Association to meet and develop an approach to promote the use of fluoridation in all Ontario municipalities with one unified approach throughout the province."

When the RCDSO talks about promoting "fluoridation in ALL Ontario municipalities with ONE UNIFIED APPROACH THROUGHOUT THE PROVINCE" (my emphasis) those words look very much like mandatory fluoridation, even more so when one knows that the president of one half of this cooperative effort is on record as stating that he wants the premier of Ontario to introduce mandatory fluoridation (see clip 1 above).

The quote above also reappears above in an article by Dr. Stechey in the August-Sept 2009 issue of Dispatch (link is slow to open), the newsletter of the RCDSO.

In the same issue of this newsletter is an article from Dr. Peter Cooney giving his typical one-sided promotion of fluoridation; an article about the meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland in 2006, organized by the WHO, IADR and FDI (Peter Cooney heads one of the FDI committees), which issued a statement containing the immortal phrase: "universal access to fluoride for dental health is a part of the basic human right to health" and
a letter from the Thunder Bay District Health Unit thanking the RCDSO for their (unsuccessful!) efforts to help fluoridate Thunder Bay.

It appears from a Memo from the Thunder Bay Health Unit that Dr. Peter Cooney was paid about $24,000 for services he rendered to Thunder Bay. Citizens are trying to find out just what "services" he was paid for. Was he paid for lobbying the councilors on fluoridation? Or for something else? Did he do this when he was also being paid by Health Canada? We will report back when these answers are found.

Returning to Peggi Mace's email. her claim that our bulletin was "completely erroneous and without substance" is inaccurate. Our correspondent may have overstated the extent to which the effort to introduce mandatory fluoridation into Ontario had been institutionalized, but there are clearly efforts afoot to do so, as the videoclip from Dr. Ira Kirshwin makes clear. Moreover, the wording of a statement made in the minutes of RCDSO looks very much in tune with that effort. So there was "substance" to our bulletin.

In addition Peggi Mace's claim that "It is completely inaccurate to state that 'RCDSO has a policy forcing dentists to support fluoridation publicly' and there is no legal basis in Ontario law to state that RCDSO 'would take action against any dentist who didn't adhere to this policy'" has to be reviewed in terms of the statement that Dr. Stechey, President of the RCDSO, made at the Thunder Bay meeting (see videoclip 2 above). I think Mace is using mealymouth words to try to downplay what any reasonable person would see as an out and out threat by Dr. Stechey to dentists who step out of line on fluoridation. Whether such enquiries by the RCDSO would lead to legal action or if they had a legal basis to do so, is quite beside the point. Professional bodies have a way of influencing the behavior of their membership without resorting to legal action. For example, they can simply remove the dentist's license to practice.

2. VICTORIES

-- Feb 4, 2010: Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania, to stop adding fluoride to water supply

-- Dec 16, 2009: Xenia, Ohio, will not add fluoride to drinking water

-- Nov 30, 2009: Amery, Wisconsin, ends fluoridation due to costs

3. SODIUM FLUORIDE USED FOR WATER FLUORIDATION CAUSING PROBLEMS NATIONWIDE
-- Feds note fluoride problems
-- Amesbury, Massachusetts, halts use in water supply, seeks solutions

4. SAVE THE DATE
The 4th Citizens' Conference on Fluoride - July 23 - 27 on the campus of St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY. This conference will follow shortly after a summit of Canadian citizens fighting fluoridation so we anticipate a report of some important developments from our neighbors to the North. Canton is located 4 hours from Toronto, 2 hours from Montreal and one hour from Ottawa.

5. ONLINE: WORDS OF THE ANTI-FLUORIDATION SONG: "GET IT OUT!" by Alex Wilson
The words can be adapted for your community.

6. Konradin Kreuzer. I received this email from Peter Meiers in Germany:

Dear all,

I have just been informed of the loss of another long-time anti-fluoride
fighter: Konradin Kreuzer, of Flüh, Switzerland, passed away on February
12. It was mainly due to his year-long efforts (since the late 1960's), in
cooperation with Rudolf Ziegelbecker, that fluoridation of Basel was
stopped in 2003.

Aged 88, Konradin Kreuzer was still working on his website to present the
arguments against fluoride and fluoridation:

http://www.nux.ch/fluor/index.html

He will be sorely missed.

Regards, Peter

We have more exciting news to share with you on campaign plans for 2010, but that will have to wait till the next bulletin.

Paul Connett

Email from Peggi Mace, RCDSO, to Paul Connett

Jan 4, 2010

Dear Mr. Connett,

On behalf of the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario, I want to bring to your attention the inaccurate information that was contained in the e-mailed FAN Bulletin titled "Chilling winds from Ontario" and dated December 24, 2009. As the regulatory body mandated by Ontario's Regulated Health Professions Act to regulate the dental profession in Ontario in the interests of public protection and safety, it is important that the record be set straight.

The information reported in that bulletin from "one of your Canadian contacts" was completely erroneous and without substance. Unfortunately your bulletin has conveyed error after error in describing the College, our activities and policies and the legal regulations that exist in Ontario.

There is no joint committee of the Ontario Dental Association, the Ontario Public Health Association and the RCDSO. There is no lobbying being done by the RCDSO "to set up and fund a fluoridation office with the sole control over all information that the public can receive about fluoridation."

It is completely inaccurate to state that "RCDSO has a policy forcing dentists to support fluoridation publicly" and there is no legal basis in Ontario law to state that RCDSO "would take action against any dentist who didn't adhere to this policy."

Also, the College's governing Council has not passed any motions or resolutions to support the formation of an Ontario Fluoridation Office or a policy of mandatory fluoridation. The College is not required by law to hold an annual general meeting. The College is accountable to the provincial Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and numerous other government bodies and commissions for its actions.

It is very troubling that you would share such completely inaccurate information without ensuring its accuracy. Your bulletin has completely misrepresented RCDSO's role as a regulator and our involvement in this important public health issue.

Peggi Mace
Communications Director
Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario

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