JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West
West Island officials are voicing disappointment with the City of Montreal’s lack of public consultation as it prepares to put an end to fluoridating drinking water at the Pointe Claire and Dorval water treatment plants by the end of 2024, claiming it is just another example of how the central city imposes its will on the demerged suburbs.
“The City of Montreal basically just decided without consulting the West Island or giving the West Island a chance to weigh in on it,” said Pointe Claire Mayor Tim Thomas, adding that this is not the first such instance.
“I was disheartened,” said Baie d’Urfé Mayor Heidi Ektvedt.
The decision “has pretty much been presented to us as ‘fait accompli’ (and) did not sit well with me,” Ektvedt added.
The drinking water for more than 100,000 West Island residents is expected to be fluoride-free by the end of the year. A recommendation by the City of Montreal’s water services department to end water fluoridation at the Pointe Claire and Dorval water treatment plants is expected to pass a vote by the Montreal Agglomeration council some time later this year.
Ektvedt explained that she had been invited to a presentation on the topic by the City of Montreal last month, where it was revealed that the city was going forward with its plan to end water fluoridation in the West Island.
“It didn’t feel like we were partners in anything,” Ektvedt said.
Demerged municipalities collectively have 13 per cent of the vote on the Montreal Agglomeration council. The City of Montreal holds the remaining 87 per cent.
“The people who are going to be making the decision for these plans are other borough mayors who sit around that table, who are not health experts, are not affected by the status quo, and will be voting without having supported a public consultation (. . .) I find that very, very concerning,” Ektvedt said.
Pointe Claire Mayor Thomas added that he believes the City of Montreal must, at the very least, hold information sessions with West Island residents about this topic to provide them with the opportunity to understand all the facts behind water fluoridation, as well as why the city is putting an end to it.
“I think Montreal is obliged to explain it to the citizens of the West Island why they’ve done this,” he said. “Whenever you remove a service from citizens who are paying taxes, you should probably explain it.”
Dorval Mayor Marc Doret says his municipality is investigating whether the move is a breach of contract.
But not everyone is upset with the move.
Pointe Claire resident Ray Coelho has been pushing for several years to see fluoridation ended.
“People didn’t like the fact that they were being medicated without their knowledge,” said Coelho, who has brought up the issue numerous times to elected officials in both Pointe Claire and the City of Montreal.
From 2021 to 2022 he collected around 6,000 signatures from residents in Pointe Claire and Dorval for a petition to put an end to water fluoridation.
He also pointed to recent news out of the U.S., where a federal judge ruled for stricter regulation of fluoridated water last month. The ruling noted that while studies on fluoridated water impacting children’s IQ levels are inconclusive, it presents an unreasonable risk to their health. This, Coelho said, should be a clear indication for Canadian municipalities to end the practice.
“My goal in all this is to give people closure,” he added. “Obviously (residents) have been drinking fluoridated water for years (. . .) I think people are entitled to some sort of apology.”
Since the 1960s, drinking water from the plants in Pointe Claire and Dorval, distribute to the towns of Beaconsfield, Kirkland, Baie d’Urfé and parts of Dollard des Ormeaux has been fluoridated. The City of Montreal has never fluoridated its water supply.
Health Canada, the Canadian Dental Association and Montreal’s Direction régionale de santé publique are some of the agencies and organization that support water fluoridation. Health Canada recommends that no more than 0.7 milligrams of fluoride be added per litre of drinking water.
The federal department also maintains that this practice serves to strengthen tooth enamel, as well as prevent cavities and tooth decay.
However, some studies have suggested that overconsumption of fluoridated water can lead to such effects as lowered IQ levels among youth – a topic that is disputed among health professionals.
In an email to The 1510 West, City of Montreal media spokesperson Hugo Bourgoin explained the city’s decision to end water fluoridation by the end of this year.
“Fluoride is a highly corrosive substance that can damage our water infrastructures over the long term,” he wrote, adding that wastewater treatment cannot remove the chemical from the water. “Fluoride is therefore ultimately discharged into the St. Lawrence River, with little documented impact on aquatic flora and fauna.”
When it comes to the documented benefits of fluoridated water, Bourgoin added: “There are other ways than water fluoridation to promote good dental health.”
In the statements by Baie d’Urfé and Pointe Claire, both municipalities encourage residents who are concerned about the lack of consultation to reach out to Maja Vodanovic, the City of Montreal’s executive committee member responsible for water.