Fluoride Action Network

Calgary: …What to watch for at city council Monday

Source: Calgary Herald | September 9th, 2016 | By Annalise Klingbeil
Location: Canada, Alberta

Excerpt from longer article on that includes several other city issues

FLUORIDE 

It’s an issue that has plagued city council for decades and once again it’s back on the agenda.

Councillors Peter Demong, Diane Colley-Urquhart and Richard Pootmans want to re-examine a 2011 decision to remove fluoride from Calgary’s water supply and have put forward a notice of motion asking council to engage the researchers behind a recent revealing study. [Note: this study was fatally flawed with key data omitted. See FAN’s critique]

The study, released in February, compared the teeth of 5,000 kids in Calgary and Edmonton and found rates of childhood tooth decay increased faster in Calgary than in Edmonton, where fluoride remains in the water.

At one time, fluoridation was common across much of Canada, but concerns about potential health risks prompted some municipalities to stop the practice in recent years.

The City of Calgary began adding fluoride to its water supply in 1991 following a plebiscite in the 1989 election in which it garnered 53 per cent support among voters

Before it was added to the water supply, plebiscites on the issue occurred in 1971, 1966, 1961 and 1957. A 1998 plebiscite held during the municipal election found 55 per cent of voters still supported water fluoridation.

But, Calgary stopped adding fluoride to its water supply in May 2011 following a council vote.

See full article, Fluoride, secondary suites and sandstone quarries: What to watch for at city council Monday