On November 20th of last year the Council and Mayor received a correspondence for action regarding the request for a fluoride referendum in Sparwood. Due to a lack of Councillors present at the November 20th meeting, the item was deferred to a later date where a larger panel was available to vote.

The correspondence was sent in by Kevin Millership, who had also at the time been in the process of settling a class action lawsuit with the City of Cranbrook regarding public water fluoridation.

Beyond these motions, the District also voted in favour of a referendum on the subject, which will be held this fall during the municipal election. Part of the motion that Council voted on was that the District and Council themselves would remain neutral on the subject.

During a discussion on the subject at the meeting Councillor McKie commented, “In my personal opinion I would like to see this come up for referendum. There have been a lot of negative things coming up about flouride lately, I think it should be the community that decides.”

Councillor MacIntyre commented on the fluoridation, “The United States Dis- ease and Control Center named water fluoridation one of the top ten public health achievements of the 20th century… There is a lot of science that backs fluoride in the water.”

“In my personal opinion, it is safe and completely harmless.”

No official date is set for the referendum but it will run this fall during Sparwood’s municipal election.

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