From Aliss:

Here is what passes for credible authoritative information, spelling mistakes and all, from the highly educated Director of Strategic Support for Toronto Public Health. This is what our highly paid councillors accept from their highly paid staff advisors about the ethics, safety and full costs of water fluoridation, without question, without due diligence, and without asking for substantiation; and this is what those of us with fluoride poisoning and/or fluoride-damaged children are supposed to accept:

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From the City of Toronto:

The City of Toronto has added fluoride to its water supply since 1963 as a means of supporting improved dental health. Fluoride is a naturally occuring element that has been proven to help prevent cavities and dental decay. Some parts of Ontario have high nartually occuring fluoride, higher than that in Toronto drinking water.

The practice of adding fluoride to water had been examined scientifically at the national, provincial and international levels, it is for these reasons that the medical officer of health for the city supports fluoridation alongside the Chief medical officer for the province and the Ontario Medical Association. At the levels set by Health Canada, the addition of fluoride to water is a safe, cost effective and equitable approach to the promotion of oral health. The question of fluoride in torontos drinking water was considered earlier this year by the board of health, after over four hours of deputations, the board unanimously reaffirmed its strong support for the benefits of fluoridation.

Phil Jackson

Director, Strategic Support

Toronto Public Health

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If Phil Jackson wrote the truth, it might go something like this:

Dear Councillor,

I am supposed to give you the provincially directed response firmly promoting and defending fluoridation so that you are off the hook in responding to your constituents who are upset about council’s ongoing failure to stop fluoridation. I am supposed to help you forget that the Ontario Fluoridation Act gives YOU as an elected member of council, not me or the provincial health dept. or the Board of Health, the legal authority to stop fluoridation no matter what propaganda we provide. I am supposed to continue the deception with layers of interconnected half-truths that confuse you into thinking they are plausible and that your constituents have it all wrong. But I just can’t do it anymore.

The City of Toronto has added industrial hazardous waste hydrofluorosilicic acid with its inherent contaminants of arsenic, lead, aluminum, cadmium and radioactive uranium decay products to its water supply since 1963. The much smaller city council at the time was the victim of “bait and switch” deception, believing it was purified sodium fluoride they would get when it was actually a very toxic corrosive pollutant from the phosphate industries in Florida. Council was told the purpose was to prevent tooth decay like iodine in salt prevents goiter, but it was really to get rid of the pollution scrubber waste by putting it into the Great Lakes via municipal waste water and hide the fact that fluoride was also being emitted in vast quantities of air pollution by almost every modern industry.

Fluoride is a naturally occurring element like arsenic, lead and aluminum, and about as bad for us when swallowed or inhaled in small amounts daily. That’s why these other toxins are strictly limited to hundreds or even thousands of times lower levels in water, food and air pollution. I am supposed to say that fluoride is a beneficial element, a nutrient, or a trace mineral; and that natural fluoride prevents tooth decay somehow. But none of that has scientific evidence. Natural calcium fluoride is not used commercially in toothpaste or water fluoridation so there is no evidence it helps teeth either. I am NOT supposed to clarify that what is added to our water is not natural but toxic industrial waste with heavy metals.

But fluoride is toxic even at low exposure, a ubiquitous and cumulative contaminant greatly increased in our water, air and food supply as a direct result of global industrialization – not a nutrient, never, no how, no way. There is no such thing as fluoride deficiency. There is fluoride poisoning of Toronto children from water fluoridation that has given us ten times more fluoride in every swallow than Nature provides, but I am supposed to tell you that there is no scientific evidence of it even though it’s obvious in nearly every teenager born and raised here including your own children. Tooth decay has nothing to do with the amount of fluoride in drinking water – natural or not. It has to do with nutrition during pregnancy and with the amount of processed carbohydrate foods in the diet when your teeth are being formed. I am supposed to make you believe that adding industrial toxic waste fluoride and heavy metals in our water will improve dental health that is being undermined by crappy, cheap cavity-causing foods. If you do believe it I guess I am a genius, or you are really not on the ball. I am not supposed to mention that in fact, the Ontario Safe Drinking Water Act regulates fluoride as a contaminant and forbids the addition of those other things found in hydrofluorosilicic acid. But I am supposed to tell you the half-truth that Toronto fluoridated water with increased contaminants meets all provincial regulations for quality. I am sick of this. And I am getting angry that you put up with the load of crap I feed you.

Nature keeps fluoride buried below soil level, bound to minerals and out of surface fresh water. Some parts of Ontario have high levels of fluoride in their well water, and they suffer health problems from this. The public health officers in those towns are supposed to tell mothers to use bottled distilled water for mixing baby formula because the fluoride level in their tap water is really harmful. The truth is that babies in Toronto should also not have any extra fluoride at all and both Health Canada and the Canadian Dental Association have said this. I am supposed to make you think that a higher level of natural fluoride is harmless so toxic waste fluoride at low level must be even safer. It’s so dishonest that I hate myself.

I am supposed to tell you that Health Canada sets the fluoride level based on ample proof of safety and dental benefit but that’s not true in law or science. Environment Canada regulates the fluoridation chemical as a horrible pollutant that is not supposed to get into water or air or food supply. I am supposed to say that water fluoridation is internationally endorsed and has been scientifically evaluated and continues to be studied. Well, it was not and isn’t. I just about crapped my pants back in 2009 when one of your constituents filed a Freedom of Information request and we had to admit this in writing. The Medical Officer of Health is required to endorse and promote fluoridation by the provincial health bosses no matter what the science says, and no matter how many parents of fluoride poisoned children object, and since it’s his career he does what he’s told. He directs the Board of Health to continue fluoridation and you assume he has legal authority to order you to maintain fluoridation. He does not. I am supposed to help maintain your false assumption.

The worst lie of all is telling you that we carefully considered all the evidence last April 4, 2011 at the Board of Health meeting. We did not. We played dirty politics instead, getting the provincial authorities to come down and make long deputations with false and erroneous statements we knew you would not have the courage to challenge. When citizens made their deputations to you some councillors sniggered rudely, talked among themselves or just left the room. We encourage this even though it goes against what our elders tried to teach us about good manners. Then we got the Board to pass a motion to allow the Chair and the Medical Officer of Health to use discretion on whether to even read the evidence and submissions given by citizens. Subsequently, they did use discretion to ignore everything from concerned citizens.

I know you as a councillor are supposed to take my advice without challenging my expertise. But come on! If I tell you that a tail is a leg, and you have a thousand citizens who own cats telling you in no uncertain terms that there are no five legged cats, do you really think I’m a credible authority on cats? I am not elected and am not accountable to Toronto citizens. You are. Aren’t you just a little ashamed that you’re not doing one blessed thing to protect municipal democracy from being hijacked by our propaganda on fluoridation? Doesn’t any part of your soul want the truth to come out, and the truth to be reflected in the policies you vote on?

Phil Jackson

Director, Strategic Support

Toronto Public Health