Recommendation: That, the Report dated
April 23, 2012, from the Acting Executive Director, Planning, Environmental and
Engineering Services and City Engineer, with respect to drinking water
fluoridation in the City of London BE RECEIVED for information, and the
following resolution BE APPROVED:
WHEREAS at the
municipal election of 1966, a plebiscite was conducted and Londoners voted in
favour of fluoridation of the public water supply of the City;
AND WHEREAS the City
of London’s drinking water has been fluoridated since September, 1967, as per
City of London By-law No. A.-3694-18, as authorized by the Fluoridation
Act, and as regulated by the Ministry of the Environment;
AND WHEREAS at the Global
Consultation on Oral Health Through Fluoride (2006), the World Health
Organization (WHO), the World Dental Federation and the International
Association for Dental Research reaffirmed the
efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and safety of the daily use of optimal
fluoride, and confirmed that universal access to fluoride for dental health
is a part of the basic human right to health;
AND WHEREAS more than 90
national and international public health agencies have endorsed the use of
fluoride at recommended levels to prevent tooth decay;
AND WHEREAS the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention declared fluoridation of drinking water to
be one of the ten great public health achievements of the 20th century;
AND
WHEREAS in
June of 2011, Health Canada released the results of a multi-year, systematic review of the health risks associated with fluoride in
drinking water and concluded that “The weight of
evidence from all currently available studies does not support a link between
exposure to fluoride in drinking water at 1.5 mg/L and any adverse health
effects…;
AND
WHEREAS the
aforementioned Health Canada review also stated that “… the
optimal concentration of fluoride in drinking water for dental health has
been determined to be 0.7 mg/L for communities who wish to fluoridate. This
concentration provides optimal dental health benefits and is well below the
MAC (Maximum Acceptable Concentration of 1.5 mg/L) to protect against adverse
effect”;
AND
WHEREAS in
April of 2011, Dr. Arlene King, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health
issued a statement expressing concern “about the loss of
fluoridated drinking water in certain communities in spite of consistent
evidence that water fluoridation is safe and effective”;
AND
WHEREAS in
February of 2011, the Board of Health for the Middlesex-London Health Unit
unanimously supported the recommendation of Dr. Graham Pollett, Medical
Officer of Health to “support the ongoing fluoridation of the City of
London’s drinking water supply as a measure to achieve optimal dental/oral
health for all residents, which is an important component of total health”;
and,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT The Corporation of
the City of London affirms its confidence in the integrity and
recommendations of the World Health Organization, Health Canada, Ontario’s
Chief Medical Officer of Health, and the Medical Officer of Health for the
Middlesex-London Health Unit, and thus supports the ongoing fluoridation of
the City of London’s drinking water;
it being noted that the Civic Works
Committee received a petition related to discontinuing the use of fluoridation
in the City’s drinking water, signed by approximately 1,442 individuals, which
is on file in the City Clerk’s Office; and,
it being further noted that the Civic Works
Committee heard a verbal delegation from Dr. G. Pollett, Middlesex-London
Health Unit and received the following communications with respect to this
matter:
- M. Malek, 1450
Kirkpatrick Way, dated April 22, 2012;
- C. Bennett, 11 Constable Street, dated
April 22, 2012;
- S. Keating, 491 Oxford Street, dated
April 22, 2012;
- M. Millar, 7334 Longwoods Road, dated
April 22, 2012;
- C. Gupta, 919 Plantation Road, dated
April 23, 2012;
- F. Andrighetti, 40 Concord Crescent,
dated April 21, 2012;
- B. Whitby, 703-95 Ridout Street South,
dated April 22, 2012;
- N. Warren, 239 Riverside Drive, dated
April 22, 2012;
- R. Hudon,1385 Matheson Road, Ottawa,
Ontario, dated April 22, 2012;
- M. Burden, 316 Griffith Street, dated
April 21, 2012;
- A. Demelo, 1629 Sharon Drive, dated
April 20, 2012;
- E. Kooistra, 1185 Guildwood Boulevard,
dated April 22, 2012;
- B. Dundas, 90 Ridout Street South,
Suite 1, dated April 20, 2012;
- K. Miller, 19-925 Lawson Road;
- C. Lewis, 838 Dufferin Avenue, dated
April 21, 2012;
- M. van Holst, by e-mail, dated April
23, 2012;
- K. Klassen, 88 Becher Street, dated
April 23, 2012;
- J. Hofer, 15-55 Fiddlers Green Road,
dated April 23, 2012;
- N. Greenhow, 70 Cottonwood Crescent,
dated April 22, 2012; and,
- K. Deyong, by e-mail, dated April 21,
2012. (2012-W13-00)
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