As my friends informed me earlier, Canada will stop minting the one-cent coin in the fall. From the National Post,
The Royal Canadian Mint will no longer make pennies as of this fall, with Mr. Flaherty calling the penny a “currency without any currency” that costs more than a penny-and-a-half to make. He suggested Canadians donate their stockpiled pennies to charity.
And from the Globe and Mail,
Perhaps the measure that will have the most visible and universal effect on Canadians is a plan to eliminate the penny. Starting this fall, the Royal Canadian Mint will no longer put pennies in circulation, saving the government $11-million a year and bringing Canada in line with countries such as New Zealand and Australia. (Consumers will be able to continue using pennies “indefinitely,” but prices will be rounded to the nearest five-cent increment if pennies aren’t available.)
There are some errors (I hope) in these stories and/or in Flaherty's statement.
- It may cost a cent and a half to make a penny, but it also costs another 3-4 cents to distribute and collect them. And that's just explicit costs. See my earlier posts to look at the other costs.
- I hope the Globe meant "nearest 5-cents" not nearest 5-cent increment.
I'm ecstatic!!!