It’s a debate that won’t stop bubbling up, especially in Peel Region. Five years after council voted to maintain fluoridation of the region’s water there’s a new effort brewing to stop municipal use of the cavity-fighting chemical. But this misguided crusade is no more justified than it was in the past, and it warrants a vigorous resistance.

Unable to refute an overwhelming body of evidence showing the health benefits of fluoridated drinking water, anti-fluoride activists now hope to end local use on jurisdictional grounds.

As reported by the Star’s San Grewal, it’s being argued, especially by Brampton and Peel Region Councillor John Sprovieri, that municipal officials lack the expertise to determine the true usefulness of adding fluoride to drinking water. As a result, cities should suspend this practice until either Ottawa or Queen’s Park specifically requires fluoridation.

What utter nonsense. Federal and provincial authorities have repeatedly, consistently and convincingly spoken on this issue and made clear that fluoridated drinking water is a boon to public health. No sound scientific evidence has surfaced showing this poses a risk.

In 2012, Dr. Arlene King, then Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, issued a report highlighting the benefits of fluoridation. She noted it can reduce tooth decay by up to 60 per cent in children’s primary teeth, and by 35 per cent in permanent teeth.

That’s a significant public health benefit achieved at minimal cost, helping the very poor as well as the affluent, whether or not people have dental insurance.

If municipal officials like Sprovieri feel ill-equipped to grasp the complexities of fluoridation they should heed the more than 17 major reviews on this issue done since 1997, including an expert panel convened by Health Canada in 2007. All concluded that fluoridation reduces risk of tooth decay in a safe and cost-effective manner.

They would also do well to consider a 2003 report done on children in Peel showing that half the kids in Caledon had cavities in their teeth while only 37 per cent in Brampton, and 38 per cent in Mississauga, did so. Why? Drinking water in Brampton and Mississauga has been fluoridated since the early 1960s, while much of the water in Caledon came from wells without any added fluoride.

What’s at risk here is a fundamental public health measure. Peel council must not let a bogus jurisdictional argument be used to strip kids of proven tooth protection.

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