Marie Lemay, president of the Royal Canadian Mint, acknowledged in an interview that there are long-term pressures on the corporation and its product.
Whether they're rattling around in your car's cup holder or have vanished permanently into the couch cushions, coins are easy to take for granted.
But Marie Lemay, president of the Royal Canadian Mint, acknowledged in an interview that there are also long-term pressures on the corporation and its product. Since February 2013, when the Mint stopped producing pennies due to rising costs relative to face value, overall demand for other Canadian circulation coins has been declining by about eight per cent per year, she said.
But she said the Mint, which still employs about 350 people at its Winnipeg production centre, has been planning for this transition. She said the corporation's goal isn't production for the sake of production, but ensuring there are always enough coins to meet demand. "In 2020, we saw demand drop by 37 per cent," Lemay said. "Now it's starting to come back up. But the question we still don't have the answer to, is how far up it will go."
Low-income Canadians as well as those living in rural and Indigenous communities are more likely to use physical money than urban Canadians, Lemay said -- which is where the Mint's role as not just a producer of coins, but as manager of the country's coin supply, comes in. This end-to-end oversight of the national inventory has helped ward off some of the problems other countries have encountered with their coin supplies during the pandemic, she added.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Keanu Reeves had an ultra-Canadian response to being called 'Canadian royalty'If you were to crown one Canadian celebrity with the title 'national treasure,' Keanu Reeves would most definitely be on the list of cont...
Read more »
Priscilla Presley Makes First Red Carpet Appearance Since Daughter Lisa Marie’s DeathPriscilla Presley made her first public appearance in nearly two months on Tuesday, when she came out to show her support for the animated Netflix series, 'Agent Elvis'. Priscilla walked the red carpet at the show's premiere, held at the Netflix Tudum Theater in Los Angeles, and posed for photos in front of posters for the series --…
Read more »
Canadian dollar hits four-month low ahead of central bank’s rate decisionLoonie at 72.65 U.S. cents
Read more »
The 27 Most Iconic Canadian Women In MusicIn celebration of International Women's Day, here are just a few examples of the many talented Canadian women who have made their mark in the music industry, inspiring future generations of artists to follow in their footsteps.
Read more »