Montreal area mayors and councillors have decided to end water fluoridation at two West Island drinking water plants, pointing to low human consumption of the drinking water, fluoride’s “corrosive” effects on infrastructure, and the availability of alternative dental health measures.
The decision to halt the fluoridation process at the Pointe-Claire and Dorval water production plants, which were the only ones in Montreal using fluoridation, was
made at a Nov. 21 meeting of mayors and councillors
representing the Island of Montreal. The decision will leave the city of Saint-Georges in Beauce, south of Quebec City, as the only municipality in Quebec that fluoridates its water, according to a Montreal statement.
“Fluoridation will continue until supplies are exhausted to avoid costs associated with off-site disposal of unused fluoridation products,” the city said, adding the decision was made following analysis from the city’s water department. The analysis said only 1 percent of the drinking water produced at the plants is consumed by residents, and that “fluoride is a highly corrosive product that can damage our infrastructures in the long term.” In addition, fluoride cannot be removed through wastewater treatment, said the city.
Fluoride has been commonly added to drinking water to prevent cavities, but “there are other means than fluoridation to promote good dental health,” officials said.
The Pointe-Claire and Dorval water production plants, operating since 2014, supply about 5 percent of Montreal’s drinking water. The Pointe-Claire plant serves several nearby municipalities and parts of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, while the Dorval plant supplies Dorval, Dorval Island, and Montréal-Trudeau airport.
Some mayors of the affected Montreal suburbs said they only learned of the city’s plan
in September, years after the department began studying the issue. Heidi Ektvedt, mayor of Baie d'Urfé, said residents were not consulted.
“We should all be concerned when public consultation on such important issues is omitted,” Ektvedt wrote in a Nov. 10 social media
post. Weeks earlier, the town of Baie d'Urfé published a
press release, saying it had never requested the cessation of water fluoridation and that Montreal’s plan had been decided “unilaterally.”
The town also cited recommendations in favour of water fluoridation from the regional health authority, Regional Directorate of Public Health (DRSP), which called it “one of the few proven and universal preventive dental health interventions.”
Montreal’s water department said it costs about $100,000 per year to fluoridate water at the two treatment plants. Contributing to the decision to shut down the two plants were health concerns for workers handling the chemicals and problems with the supply of fluoridation products in recent year, the department said.
The decision comes two months after a U.S. federal judge
ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take action over concerns that fluoride in drinking water poses a potential risk of cognitive decline.
U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen said in his Sept. 24
ruling that while his findings cannot “conclude with certainty” that fluoridated water is harmful to public health, there is evidence it poses “an unreasonable risk” of lowering children’s IQ.
Citizen Petition
In a March 2024 report, Montreal’s water department said it began reconsidering the use of fluoride in the water supply after receiving a “citizen petition” in 2020. That petition was launched by resident Ray Coelho, who said his campaign was supported by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s
choice for secretary of the Health and Human Services Department.
Coelho leads “Fluoride Free Montreal,” a
group working to end water fluoridation on the island of Montreal. He
said on social media on Nov. 4 he has spoken with Kennedy “on a few occasions,” and that Kennedy’s advocacy
group, Children’s Health Defense, has offered to cover his legal costs.
Mary Holland, chief executive officer of Children’s Health Defense, told The Epoch Times in an email that the organization has been in touch with Coelho but has “never formally offered funding for litigation on this issue.”
Holland could not confirm whether Coelho has had direct contact with Kennedy.
“Children’s Health Defense has been very concerned about water fluoridation and its toxic effects on young children and fetuses for some time,” Holland wrote. “Our founder, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has been outspoken on the issue.”
Kennedy says fluoride is linked to a range of health problems.
“Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease,” he wrote in a Nov. 2 social media
post. He has said that
working to remove fluoride from drinking water will be one of
Trump’s goals in office.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
