The Red Deer Advocate reports on an “informal chat” and website survey conducted by the City of Red Deer on the fluoridation of drinking water in the region. The newspaper reports, “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. …Right now, fluoridation of Red Deer’s public water supply is mandated by a plebiscite that was held in the 1950s.”
“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. …Mayor Morris Flewwelling remains hopeful that this consultation will be a worthwhile endeavour.”
The Council of Canadians Unfluoridate It! web-page is at http://canadians.org/fluoride.
