17
Volume1 Issue2
|
N
ews and
E
vents
Saint John, NewBrunswick
DISCONTINUESFLUORIDATION
How do you feel about what happened on
March10?
JC:
Wewere very disappointedwith the results.
After the councillors voted, it came down to a
5–5 tie, and themayorbroke the tiewithhisvote.
Unfortunately, he voted against fluoridation. It
was actually a surprise to us because we were
led tobelieve that themeetingwas for informa-
tiongatheringpurposes—soneedless to saywe
werequitedisappointed.
Whatwere themainargumentsusedagainst
fluoridation?
JC:
Certainly themain decision that came from
council was that it was an economic decision:
they felt that the distribution of fluoride was
inefficient and a waste of money. The water
manager for the city of Saint John recom-
mended that council get rid of fluoride due to
inefficiencies.
KM:
I’dhave toagree that themain thrust of the
debate was from an engineering perspective.
They didn’t think it would harm anyone to take
fluoride out. As amunicipality, they didn’t want
tohave topay for ahealthprogram.
Can you comment on the tactics that were
used leading up to the vote, particularly by
theanti-fluoridationgroups?
JC:
We were aware that city councillors were
receiving emails from various sources on the
issueof fluoride toxicity thatwewould consid-
er tobenotcredible.Unfortunately theymay
havebeen influencedbywhat I consider to
be bad science. As I said, the vote came
by surprise.Wewereprepared for a round
tablediscussionon the issueand thenwe
wereblindsidedby thevote.
What are the biggest lessons that you’ve
learned from thiscampaign?
KM:
Beprepared that thevocalminoritycanhave
abigger influence thanwemayexpect.Weneed
todoabetter jobexplaining thebenefitsofwater
fluoridationand if you’re inanarea that haswater
fluoridation, don’twaituntil citycouncil bringsup
the issue. As dentists, we take it for granted that
water fluoridation is agood thing, butmaybewe
don’texplain this inanongoingconversationwith
thepublic—how important, effectiveandcost-ef-
fectivewater fluoridationcanbe.
JC:
Councillors told us that they were hearing
only frompeople against fluoridation. Although
we suspectmost people are in favour of fluorid-
ation, they’re not calling their councillors to ex-
press their support—so the vocal minority can
havegreater influence.
What is your advice to colleagues across
the country—individuals or associations—
abouthow toprepare for similardebateson
waterfluoridation?
JC:
Be organized and expect the unexpected.
Assume elected officials are uneducated on
fluoride. It’s our responsibility to try andeducate
them. But sometimes it’s difficult tomake them
see thebenefits.
KM:
Iwouldadd, educateother staff in the city—
theengineers and thepeoplewho arenot neces-
sarily sitting around the council tablebutwho are
making recommendations tocouncil. If theybetter
understood why fluoride is added to the water,
theymight bemore likely tomake recommenda-
tions in favourofwaterfluoridation.
a
This interviewhasbeencondensedandedited.
Unfortunately theymayhave been influencedbywhat
I consider to be bad science.
– JeffClark
OnMarch10, Saint John,NewBrunswick, city council voted to stopfluoridating the city’swater supply.Dr. JeffClark,
president of theNewBrunswickDental Society (NBDS), andDr.KellyManning, president-elect ofNBDS,wereboth
invited topresent toSaint John council inadvance of thedebate.Drs.ClarkandManning spokewithCDAabout their
experienceandwhat they learned in theprocess.
KellyManning
JeffClark
To listen to the
full interview, visit
