There won’t be added fluoride in Windsor’s drinking water in the near future.
Windsor city council voted to have fluoride removed after a six hour special meeting Monday night.
“People expect to be able to drink their water without any consequence,” says Mayor Eddie Francis.
The Windsor Utilities Commission recommended the city take it out of the city’s water supply. Sixteen of 27 delegates also supported its removal.
Councillor Drew Dilkens, who put forward the motion to have it removed in the first place, says it could take a couple of months before the change takes place. He says the utilities commission has to get the certificate of authority changed by the province.
The motion passed 8-3 with JoAnne Gignac, Hilary Payne and Fulvio Valentinis opposing the removal of the substance.
“We had all kinds of representations from the medical community here and every single one of them supported keeping the fluoride,” says Valentinis.
The Windsor-Essex Health Unit also wanted it left in, to help prevent tooth decay.
The city first passed a bylaw to establish a fluoridation system in 1961, after the province enacted the Fluoridation Act.
Amherstburg and Lakeshore councils already voted to remove fluoride from their water systems. The Union Water System, which covers drinking water in Leamington, Kingsville, Essex and part of Lakeshore, does not use fluoride.
