Canada PoliticsNow that the pesky penny is gone, how about getting rid of that nasty nickel?
Today is the beginning of the end of the pesky penny.
As of today, the Royal Canadian Mint will no longer distribute the one-cent pieces to financial institutions while businesses will be encouraged to start rounding their cash-sales to the nearest nickel.
The penny phase-out is expected to save Canadian taxpayers $11 million a year in production costs and many more millions in increased productivity; according to the Epoch Times, one study estimated the cost of Canadians waiting in line to get pennies for change at greater than $20 million a year.
[ Related: Penny stops Monday, businesses round to the nearest nickel ]
If you're sentimental about losing the penny, however, you're not going to like this story.
According to the National Post, there are some that are already planning the demise of the nickel.
"[NDP MP Pat Martin] plans to launch a private member’s motion by the end of the week to eliminate the five-cent coin and re-jig the rest of Canada’s currency. His “master plan” is to have a coin currency in multiples of 10s – 10, 20 and 50-cent coins, and $1, $2 and $5 coins.
“One down, one to go,” Martin told Postmedia News on Sunday.
“You keep it all at multiples of 10 and Bob’s your uncle – you’ve got a functioning currency system. There’s just no good argument for keeping the nickel except for as a place to put the beaver.”"
Here is the complete article from the Post.
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Are you ready to say 'au revoir' to the nickel? Or do we need some time to digest the loss of the penny?
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