Fort St. John’s drinking water might soon be free of fluoride.

At Monday night’s City Council Meeting, councilors agreed to remove the chemical from the City’s water supply.

Director of Infrastructure Victor Shopland, says the current amount of fluroide in the drinking water sits at .7 parts per million. Which, he says can be beneficial if a leak occurs.

Mayor Bruce Lantz says he would rather see the chemical banned, than decrease it by a small margin.

Councilor Larry Evans agrees. He says fluoride might have been slightly beneficial 40 years ago, but he says nowadays, the cons outweigh the pros.

On the June 24th meeting, concerned resident Dorothy Folk presented a report to Council, detailing the negative effects of fluoride in drinking water. She also provided 1200 signatures from residents who wanted the issue revisted. The last referendum on fluoride happened in the 1970’s.

Now, the City doesn’t have to go towards a referendum because of a change to the Community Charter. However, the City will seek ministerial approval before it impliments a ban.

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