Voters will not have the opportunity to weigh in on whether there should be fluoride in Norfolk’s drinking water after councillors voted not to include the question on October’s municipal election ballot.

At last week’s council meeting, councillors initially discussed asking electors in Courtland, Delhi and Simcoe – where fluoride is currently added to drinking water – whether they wished that practice to continue.

Dr. Malcolm Lock from the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit and Simcoe dentist Ian Malo, speaking on behalf of the Haldimand-Norfolk Dental Society, argued in favour of fluoridation as a way to improve the oral hygiene and overall health of low-income residents who can’t afford dental care.

A report from county staff backed that assertion.

Councillors debated asking all voters if fluoride should be added to drinking water throughout the county.

Fearing that the result of such a plebiscite would tie the county to a particular course of action without the benefit of expert testimony, councillors instead decided not to add any fluoride-related question to the ballot this year.

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