Calgarians vote yes to fluoride in city water supply
Calgarian have voted to add fluoride back to the city's water supply.
"I’m thrilled," said Juliet Guichon, a University of Calgary medical bioethicist and the campaign manager with Fluoride Yes!
"And I'm sure I speak on behalf of the small but mighty team in saying we're delighted that Calgarians will benefit now from fluoridation again."
Calgary stopped adding fluoride to its drinking water in 2011 as directed by city council.
Plebiscites on the fluoridation of Calgary's drinking water have been held six times: in 1999, 1989, 1971, 1966, 1961 and 1957.
"I think Calgarians had already voted twice for fluoridation in two plebiscites and they were dismayed that city council acted against their wishes and medical advice in removing fluoridation, and they had decades of fluoridation, they knew how valuable it was," said Guichon.
"Then they had a decade of decay, they'd seen their dental bills rise and they suffered, so it wasn't too hard a sell from our perspective, we just had to remind them of what had happened.
"And I think the pandemic has caused people to appreciate public health all the more."
Monday's vote is non-binding, meaning the issue must now go before city council once again and Guichon says she plans to continue their pressure.
"We're asking all our supporters to keep all their signs on their lawns or in their windows until city council has instructed water engineering to go ahead and purchase the necessary equipment," she said.
"And we will continue to remind the new (councillors) that we're here, and we're watching, because we care a lot about what's happened, particularly to children as a result of the loss of fluoridation."
The city says the estimated cost to reintroduce fluoride is approximately $6 million to upgrade the dormant fluoridation system.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.