Montreal says 'no' to water fluoridation

The City of Montreal told constituents from the West Island suburbs who are concerned that their water will no longer be treated with fluoride that it has no intention of reopening the debate, and is facing backlash from those who wanted more public consultation.

A council representing Montreal and the suburban municipalities on the island was scheduled to vote Thursday evening on whether the six suburbs should stop the practice. Montreal voted to end fluoridation by the end of the year in September.

Concerned citizens took the mic, saying their water has had fluoride for decades and that they don't want it removed "just because the rest of Montreal is removing it."

The topic took up most of the Montreal Agglomeration Council's meeting. 

Though public health officials say fluoridation is an effective way to reduce tooth decay, the city's water department recommended the practice be stopped, partly to save on costs. Only two of Montreal’s six water treatment plants use fluoride, in Dorval and Pointe-Claire, which serve the West Island. One other municipality in Quebec puts fluoride in its water.

Lachine Mayor Maja Vodanovic said the Pointe-Claire plant needs to be renovated, which brought up the question of whether or not the plant should continue fluoridation. 

"We were looking at putting fluoride everywhere or removing it everywhere. We have to be coherent, so we chose to remove it like the rest of Quebec," said Vodanavic.

Dominic Ryan said the city should have chosen to add fluoride to all the island's water instead, "given the disparity in dental health between those who have fluoride in their water and those who do not."

"It’s a simple and effective public health measure that can be delivered directly to any and all citizens, independent of their needs," he added.

Clifford Lincoln told the city it should have consulted the other municipalities and residents before making the decision, a sentiment echoed by many in the room.

"We hear about economic benefits of stopping fluoridation but not the health concerns," said Lincoln. "Dorval has been fluoridating its water for 70 years."

Some pointed to Calgary, which stopped fluoridation only to re-implement it at great cost, as an example. Others asked why chlorine is added to water but not fluoride.

"Most of the water we have isn’t consumed and ends up in the river and we don’t know the effects of fluoride over water," said Vodanovic. "The water filtration system should be used for anything else but to provide the best quality water." 

Municipalities wanted to be consulted

Representatives from the six West Island suburbs, including Dorval and Kirkland, said they should have been consulted, and many had passed resolutions in their own councils asking Montreal to reconsider its plan to end water fluoridation.

Dorval Mayor Marc Doret said he was "disappointed" at the lack of transparency and said it "shouldn't be a political discussion" given the health benefits of fluoride.

Baie-D'Urfé Mayor Heidi Ektvedt said the debate over fluoridation shouldn't have been "between politicians in this room" and that the topic wouldn't have taken up so much of the council's time "if the population had been consulted and the process was well-done."

Vodanovic said she knows the topic "is polarizing" and has been since the 1950s. She said there have been conflicting reports on the benefits and hazards of fluoride, and public consultations would not have been fruitful. 

She denied the decision was political, and said it was fully based on a report from the water department. "We voted on it democratically and brought it to this room democratically." 

In a report published in March, the water department says it costs about $100,000 per year to fluoridate the water at the two plants. It also said the city has had problems with the supply of fluoridation products, which has led to shutdowns at both plants and health concerns for those handling the chemicals.

With files from The Canadian Press