Dear Supporter,
Two Major Fluoride-Free Victories
On March 10, the council in the Canadian city of Saint John, New Brunswick voted to end the fluoridation of the public drinking water. Faced with budget issues and looking to cut wasteful spending, councilors made a motion to axe the fluoridation program, saving the city $177,000 annually for the additive alone. The council vote was 5 to 5 on the motion, with the tie-breaking 6th vote in opposition to fluoride coming from Mayor Mel Norton. He believed that “health care was not a city responsibility and the city’s limited dollars should be spent on recreation and roads.”
The Saint John metro area is home to approximately 130,000 people, and is the largest city in New Brunswick and second largest in the maritime provinces. According to local media, this vote means that there is now only one fluoridated town left in New Brunswick, the town of Oromocto (pop. 8,900). If Oromocto ended fluoridation, then New Brunswick would become the third Canadian province free from fluoridation. Both Yukon and Nunavit are currently fluoridation-free, and British Columbia and Quebec are not far behind, with only a handful of communities still practicing fluoridation.
The second major victory took place this week in Ireland. On March 10, the Cork County Council, the largest county council in Ireland voted by a huge majority in favor of a motion calling on the federal government to ban fluoridation throughout the country. The vote had cross-party support and is expected to have a domino effect with other county councils.
Ireland is the only country in the European Union and one of only two in the world with a national fluoridation mandate. However, a growing number of fluoride-free campaigns have gained momentum across the country, and six Cork town councils have already passed motions calling for an end to fluoridation. Prior to the vote in Cork County, the Agriculture Minister announced that the Irish government would appoint an international group of experts to review public water fluoridation, likely in response to the growing public pressure.
Two Major Upcoming Events
1) Presentation by Dr. Paul Connett: “Why Seattle Should End Fluoridation.”
Monday, March 17 – Seattle, Washington
2) “March for Clean Water” Rally
Saturday, March 22 – San Francisco, California
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/
Sincerely,
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