Motion to reconsider Calgary fluoride decision rejected by council

Calgary city council voted against a motion Tuesday night to revisit whether fluoride should be added to the drinking water, then on Wednesday asked Mayor Naheed Nenshi to write to the provincial health authorityasking it to explore the issue.

Couns. Peter Demong, Diane Colley-Urquhart and Richard Pootmansput forward Tuesday'smotion, suggesting the city invite experts from theUniversity of Calgary's O'Brien Institute for Public Health to offer adviceon thematter.

Council rejected the idea by a vote of nine to five.

• Calgary fluoride decision from 2011 should now be reconsidered, councillors say
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When the meetingresumed Wednesday,Coun.DruhFarrell put forward a motion directingNenshito write toAlberta Health Services, asking it toexplore root causes of increased tooth decay in Alberta, including equitable access to dental care programs and services, especially for low-income families.

Nenshi was skeptical of what effect the letter will produce.

"This letter ain't gonna amount to a hill of beans but I'll write it," he told council.

A study published earlier this year by Lindsay McLaren, with the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine, found a greater increase in tooth decay among Calgary kids compared to Edmonton kidssince Calgary stopped fluoridating its water in 2011.

Dr. William Ghali, scientific director at the O'Brien Institute for Public Health, listened to the latest council discussion and said it appeared councillors would like to have more information on fluoride but simply saw too much political risk in formally requesting a study from his group.

'Political hot potato'

He said even asking for the information could make it look like they were reopening the "very divisive issue" of fluoridation, just as they enter an election year.

"I think it was, in the end, just a political hot potato," Ghali said.

"Even though there was no cost, I think the political sensitivity around signalling to the citizens of the city that they're revisiting the question was too tricky to them."

Ward 7 Coun. DruhFarrell, who voted against the motion, told the Calgary Eyeopenershe believes focusing solely on whether to add fluorideto the water misses the point.

"The problem is so much bigger than fluoride," she said.

Farrell said the fact that Edmonton where fluoride is still added to the water also has high rates of tooth decay demonstrates that the problem is complex.

The onus should be on Alberta Health, not municipalities, to make dental care more accessible for low-income children and to promote healthiereating habits, she said.

"We're focusing on this one solution that obviously isn't working the way it should."

Calgary family physicianDr. David Keegan said he'sdisappointed in council's decision.

"We've got a limited pool of public money and we have to make decisions. So those decisions that we should make, should be ones that are evidence-based and at the lowest cost for the value. Fluoride isone of them."

Asked about the issue on Wednesday, Health Minister Sarah Hoffman said the province has research findings available regarding the safety of water fluoridation. She said ultimatelyit's a jurisdictional responsibility of municipalities to determine whether to addfluoride totap water.

With files from the Calgary Eyeopener

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