A small number of Red Deer area residents sat down with civic leaders on Monday to say whether they’d like the city to hold a plebisicite on water fluoridation or have council decide on the controversial issue.
The City of Red Deer hosted an informal chat between city council and the public inside the second-floor room of City Hall between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. After an hour, about eight people had turned up.
The sparse numbers are a far cry from the more than 400 people who responded to a survey found on the City of Red Deer website. The survey was set to close at the end of the day on Monday.
People are being asked to say whether the city should hold a plebiscite, have council make a decision based on in-depth public consultation, or have council decide with the information that they already have. The consultation will involve asking regional customers, not just people in Red Deer. The city supplies water to more than 145,000 customers.
Anti-fluoride supporters have typically come out to Red Deer meetings while few, if any, have turned up at public meetings in support of the cavity-fighting chemical.
“As a dental hygienist, I have a vested interest in our community and healthy teeth so I want to see water fluoridation continued,” said Red Deer dental hygienist Rachelle Scrase at Monday’s Community Cafe event. “It’s a cost-effective way of reaching the most members of our community and giving them a healthy benefit. At an appropriate level, fluoride is scientifically proven to prevent cavities and is not harmful to the body.”
Scrase brought along a Sept. 29 paper from the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association endorsing community water fluoridation. Its position is supported by various groups, including Health Canada and the Canadian Public Health Association.
Right now, the city adds fluoride to its municipal water in a concentration of less than 0.8 mg/litre per the guidelines set out by Health Canada. Fluoridation of Red Deer’s public water supply is mandated by a plebiscite that was held in the 1950s.
Scrase said she’d like to see the city hold a plebiscite so that Red Deer voters could decide.
Ken Collier, chair of the Red Deer chapter of Council of Canadians, said he’d rather see a decision based on in-depth public input, as well as public hearings based on qualified scientific input.
The Council of Canadians, a social justice group, recently adopted a campaign advocating for unfluoridated water because of scientific findings it’s gathered.
“I’ve heard people laugh about this — you want to go and help the city on how to decide?,” said Collier. “I think it’s a worthwhile thing because it at least raises the profile of the question.”
Input will be gathered through various means, with a report to come back to council the end of January. The consultation process is estimated at $3,500.
Councillor Cindy Jefferies had voted against the resolution to seek public input into the decision-making process.
“I think the discussion that people really want is whether fluoridation is in or out,” said Jefferies at the Community Cafe session. “I think it’s OK to allow a little bit more time. It does raise attention to the issue.”
Mayor Morris Flewwelling said he’s received comments through email and other means on whether fluoride should be kept in the Red Deer water supply or not.
“But I think I’ve had very few comments about what the meeting (on Monday) is about,” Flewwelling said.
“I think there’s been confusion.”
But he remains hopeful that this consultation will be a worthwhile endeavor.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com