OTTAWA - There may still be pennies from heaven, but they won't
be coming from the mint much longer.
The humble one-cent piece is set to disappear from Canadian
pockets, a victim of inflation.
Thursday's federal budget said the Royal Canadian Mint will
strike the last of the little coins this fall.
The budget says the cost of minting a penny has risen to 1.6
cents or $11 million a year. Its purchasing power has fallen to a
20th of its original value.
"Some Canadians consider the penny more of a nuisance than a
useful coin," the budget documents said.
And so the coin will go the way of the old 25-cent shinplaster.
"The penny is a currency without any currrency in Canada,"
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said at a news conference.
It's nothing but a nuisance for business, he added.
Pennies will still be legal tender, but as they slowly vanish
from circulation, prices will have to be rounded up or down.
If the customer has the pennies, they can use them. Payments with
debit or credit cards or cheques can also be to the penny. But if
the customer is paying cash and doesn't have the pennies, the total
will go up or down to the nearest nickel. For example, $1.02 will
become $1 and $1.03 will be $1.05.
The budget said experience in other countries that have dropped
low-denomination coins suggests that rounding will be fair and there
will be no impact on inflation.
As for those jars, boxes and bags of pennies sitting in countless
drawers across the country, the government suggests people donate
them to charities.
The penny has been under fire for years. New Democrat MP Pat
Martin has introduced private member's bills over the years to kill
it.
The disappearing penny will likely have little economic impact,
but it may require some cultural adjustments.
Penny candy? A relic of the past. The penny arcade? Already gone.
And some old adages will likely fade away, too.
What are people going to pinch?
Will thoughts now cost a nickel?
See a penny? Leave it.
Penny-wise? Just foolish.
Take care of the nickels and the dollars will take care of
themselves?
A penny saved is ... not much.
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