Mayor wants Strathmore to have a bigger say post-election
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Mayor Pat Fule intends for Strathmore to have a bigger say in decisions that affect local residents, yet are largely out of their control.
A prime example of such a discussion is the argument for the presence of fluoride in Calgary’s water, which would also result in fluoride being in Strathmore’s water.
“The fluoridation of water from Calgary is definitely on my radar. I’m interested in it and I need to learn more,” said Fule. “I’m not sure when exactly it’s coming before their (Calgary’s) council. I know they just had their last meeting a couple days ago and I didn’t see anything on their agenda and didn’t hear anything in the news reports.”
He added that he wishes to do a lot more reading about the topic, as he does not want to claim expertise where he is not. Additionally, Fule intends to engage more with Calgary’s council and the Calgary Metropolitan Review Board (CMRB) post municipal election.
“The one interesting thing, that is I think important, is Strathmore right now is currently a member of the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board and any kind of developments or issues that are important to the whole region (and) the municipalities around Calgary is brought before the board,” he said.
Though Strathmore’s own council has not engaged in many discussions regarding fluoride in local water, Fule also made a point to recognize that feelings on the matter are very dynamic.
“(This) has been a situation where there’s mixed feelings. I would have to do a lot more reading of the scientific documents to get a much better understanding,” he said. “I know there’s a lot of people out there who feel that it shouldn’t be added to water, but I know that there’s a lot of support with dentists as far as the benefits of helping children (and) young adults with their teeth and the health of teeth and preventing decay.”
As Strathmore is not the only municipality which receives its water from Calgary as a parent source, Fule wants to encourage other municipalities to also engage more in the discussion and advocate for the result they would like to see for their own areas.