General

Senate finance committee wants to kill penny

Finance committee recommends removing the coin

The Senate finance committee is expected to recommend on Tuesday that Ottawa abandon the penny. According to the Canadian Press’ sources inside the committee, it’s been agreed that a century of inflation has made the coin useless. (Since 1908, the coin has lost 95 per cent of its purchasing power, reports the Bank of Canada). Moreover, it now costs more to produce the penny—1.5 cents each—than it’s worth. The Bank of Canada’s research shows eliminating the penny would have a negligible impact on the economy. “On some transactions, the merchant loses and the consumer wins; on some, the merchant wins and the consumer loses,” Pierre Duguay, the bank’s deputy governor, told the Senate finance committee last spring. “However, on balance it evens out.”

Toronto Star

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