At its Convention in Toronto, August 20-22, 2010, the Green Party of Canada passed the following resolution (also available in French). Note: In the U.S. over 90% of drinking water fluoridation schemes use hexafluorosilicic acid and sodium silicofluoride.
Considerations:
This motion, in calling for a ban on the fluoridation of public drinking water, would create a new policy and would involve the federal government stepping into an area that has traditionally been within the jurisdiction of the provinces.
Motion Preamble:
WHEREAS fluoridation products such as hexafluorosilicic acid and sodium silicofluoride are toxic by-products scrubbed from the smokestacks of the phosphate mining industry, and less than one percent of treated water is actually ingested by people and the remaining 99 percent is discharged into the environment;
WHEREAS fluoride is not removed in sewage treatment and remains a toxic constituent of the effluent discharged by treatment plants to rivers and lakes, and background levels of fluoride in the Great Lakes exceed the Canadian Water Quality Guideline (CWQG) for aquatic species, and fluoride concentrations in sewage effluent are 5-10 times in excess of the CWQG. At these concentrations fluoride is known to be toxic to a variety of water species such as salmon, caddisfly, daphnia & others;
WHEREAS the use of drinking water to deliver medications is not medically or environmentally sustainable, and the use of unregulated, unapproved medications in drinking water, without a prescription or informed consent is medically and environmentally not sustainable, and the daily dose of fluoride cannot be controlled and health effects from fluoride are not monitored;
WHEREAS 97 percent of Europe does not use artificial water fluoridation products in their public drinking water supply, and 94 percent of the world’s population does not use artificial water fluoridation products in their public water supply;
WHEREAS no statistical difference exists in rates of dental caries between areas that use artificial water fluoridation chemicals and those that do not (Statistics Canada);
WHEREAS the Green Party affirms that the precautionary principle should be used where there is evidence of potential harm in the absence of complete scientific consensus.
Motion Operative:
BE IT RESOLVED that the Green Party seeks to introduce and support legislation that will ban artificial fluoridation products in public drinking water.
Sponsor(s):
Toronto Danforth EDA, Davenport EDA, Vaughan EDA, York University Greens, Frank De Jong, Tom Eric, Halvorsen Jobi, Mike Kenny, Claudia Rodriguez-Larrain, Ingrid Sheriff, Constantine Kritsonis, Mike Dewar, Marie La Plume, Fay Neuber, Stefan Premdas, Bruce Hearns, Matt Turner