Regina city council will reconsider plan to add fluoride to water supply at special meeting

WATCH: One Regina city councillor is hoping to prevent the addition of fluoride to Regina’s water supply. Donovan Maess has the details.

City council will hold a special meeting this spring to discuss reconsidering putting fluoride in Regina’s drinking water supply.

The meeting will be held May 2 at 9 a.m., a news release from the City of Regina says.

Regina’s city council approved adding fluoride to the city’s water supply in 2021. However, the decision included waiting until upgrades at the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant were completed.

Those upgrades are expected to be finished by the end of 2025, with fluoridation set to begin in January of 2026.

Current Ward 10 Coun. Clark Bezo brought forward a motion in March asking council to reconsider the plan.

Health Canada currently recommends 0.7 parts per million as an optimal level of fluoride in drinking water.

“The implementation of fluoridation of the municipal water system in Regina would provide all residents, especially our most vulnerable, with an effective and equitable approach to helping prevent dental decay,” Kelly Fuchs, the senior health educator of the oral health program with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, said on August 11, 2021.

However, Bezo has claimed there is frequent emerging evidence that fluoride in water may have negative health impacts, citing a study published in 2024.

• ‘Stop this program right now’: Regina city councillor hoping to halt addition of fluoride to city’s water

In 2011, Calgary city councillors voted to remove fluoride from the city’s drinking water, a recent plebiscite in 2021 will see its return in 2025.

Saskatoon has included fluoride in its drinking water since the 1950s. Moose Jaw also fluoridates its drinking water.

According to the city, those who wish to speak at the meeting have until noon on April 28 to register as a delegate. Those who wish to address council can register here.

The city says an agenda for the meeting will be made available on March 14 at 1 p.m.

-With files from Donovan Maess