The province's decision to ban cities from removing fluoride from water has Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens scratching his head.
"Whatever was passed was non-binding and effectively has no teeth. I still don't understand, if the addition of fluoride to the water system is of such public health concern that the province doesn't mandate that it be added to water systems," says Dilkens.
The motion passed was symbolic and does nothing to reverse the city's decision to remove fluoride from the water supply.
"These aren't decisions that should be left up to non-scientific people like myself," says Dilkens. "They are decisions that should be left up to those with expertise and certainly if fluoride is something that is proven to be beneficial to the public health then it's something the province should mandate."
Dilkens says he stands by his vote to remove fluoride from the water based on all the evidence that was provided to him at the time of the debate.
"With the disparity in opinion in medical journals it's not something that I felt comfortable leaving in the water system knowing that there are other alternatives for people to get fluoride," says Dilkens.
The Windsor Utilities Commission stopped adding fluoride to Windsor's water supply in March 2013 after a lengthy council debate. The council at the time committed to revisiting the decision in 2018.
