Fluoride in the drinking water for Dorval: lobbying and fighting

What is not mentioned is that when the program was cancelled Dorval was part of the merged Mega City of Montreal and he (Mayor Rouleau) and councilor Robert Bourbeau were responsible for representing the citizens of the two Dorval wards under the Mega-City.

What is also not mentioned anywhere is that both councilors vigorously defended the Mega-City until they lost to the Citizens of Dorval for Demerger (CDD) forces in June of 2004. By municipal election time in 2005 the CDD morphed into the Citizens of Dorval for Democracy (CDD). The CDD had water samples analyzed and discovered that it contained no fluoride, at a meeting the outgoing Mayor Peter B. Yeomans admitted that the program had ceased to be in December 2003.

Unlike today’s fanfare announcing the re-introduction of the fluoride program there was no mention, no announcement and no warning of the discontinuation of the fluoride program in Dorval.

Mayor Rouleau, then councilor for East ward and Robert Bourbeau then councilor for the Western ward failed to advise the population of Dorval that the most vulnerable of the citizenry (the children) would be affected by this discontinuation of the fluoride program. It was the duty of Robert Bourbeau and Edgar Rouleau as elected representatives to advise the citizens of the change, there was no fanfare, no mention, not even a whisper.

The Dorval publication “The Communiqué” would have been appropriate for an announcement that would affect the dental health of the citizens. It seems that the new council of the Demerged City of Dorval thought so as twenty-eight months after the fact they finally published a notice in the March 2006 edition of the Communiqué. They ended with “If you have not already done so, or if you have any questions, please do discuss the matter with your dentist.” Great advice only coming 28 months too late for the thousands of children that suffered from a 50% increase of cavities.

With the announcements and the fanfare trumpeting the return of fluoride 56 months after its removal, we at the CDD fought to have this subject brought to light, fought to have the council admit to it, we brought the subject to public attention with newspaper articles and radio interviews and we also brought forward a petition to Dorval council. We feel rewarded for our efforts but saddened that it took so long for the councilors entrusted with our well-being failed to advise us of this potential health risk.