Fluoride in Windsor's drinking water could be one step closer after Monday night's council meeting.
After hearing from nearly 20 delegates on both sides of the issue back in December of 2018, council opted to reintroduce fluoride to the city's water supply by a vote of 8-3. Mayor Drew Dilkens and councillors Fred Francis and Ed Sleiman were in opposition.
Monday night's meeting will see a by-law introduced to make things official and four delegations have put their names in to continue the argument.
Ward 4 Councillor Chris Holt doesn't want to say residents are wasting their time, but the time for debate has passed.
"Time is so valuable and having a whole bunch of delegates show-up to speak to this again, that's not what this is about. This is about that bureaucratic requirement that we have to create that by-law," he says. "We've already sat through six-hours of delegations, I don't really want to do that again. I don't want to say they're wasting their time because you never know what's going to happen, but I really do not see council changing the way they vote on this."
According to a report going to council, the price tag for drinking water fluoridation is pegged around $850,000 with the majority of that going to start-up costs.
Holt says it's money well spent if it means Windsor's most vulnerable residents live healthier lives.
"It would be irresponsible of me not to listen to the medical professionals that are coming before me saying this is good for the public's health," he says. "I would have no problem spending $1-million to fix oral health of the vast number of our community."
Tecumseh and LaSalle share the city's water supply, so two of the three municipalities must vote in favour of fluoridation.
Neither municipality has made a decision, with Tecumseh deferring the issue until Windsor makes things official.