Quebec public health supports maintaining water fluoridation in West Island

The City of Montreal’s decision to phase out fluoride from West Island drinking water sparks controversy.

Fluoride is slowly but surely being phased out of West Island drinking water following a decision made by the city to end the program at Dorval and Pointe-Claire water treatment plants.

It’s a decision that still upsets Baie-D’Urfe mayor Heidi Ektvedt.

“We weren’t consulted. Our citizens didn’t have a chance to be part of this decision about a service that they have had for over 70 years,” she said.

The City of Montreal reiterated to CTV News its position that fluoride is a corrosive substance that can negatively impact its infrastructure and can’t be removed from wastewater. It also said only 1 per cent of water treated at its plants is consumed, and there are better ways of promoting dental health.

But Ektvedt says there should have been a debate before making the decision. She decided to reach out to the public health agencies of both the City of Montreal and Quebec to find out what the science says about adding fluoride to drinking water.

She said both agencies came out in favour of fluoridation.

Ektvedt shared with CTV News the letter she received from Quebec’s Public Health Director Dr. Luc Boileau.

The letter states: “…the MSSS recommends maintaining fluoridation of drinking water at treatment plants in the City of Dorval and the City of Pointe-Claire, and to consider its extension across Montreal.”

“Despite the challenges that the City of Montreal may encounter in managing the water treatment for the Montreal community, we are confident that the benefits of fluoridated drinking water significantly outweigh these obstacles.”

Among the benefits of fluoridated water is preventing tooth decay in the general population, who may not have access to dental care, according to Paul Allison, a professor at the faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences at McGill University.

“So, we will almost certainly see in those areas that used to have, fluoridated water within two or three years, we’re going to see the dental decay rates go up. That means more kids and families with dental decay, which has a cost,” he said.

Ektvedt said that she plans to bring the letter from Dr. Boileau to the next agglomeration meeting in hopes that it will reopen the discussion on fluoridation.

“Because I really do feel people have the right to have access to accurate information.”