Chrystia Freeland

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Terry Fox, yes! But no Lotta or Crowfoot?

On December 16, Canada’s Department of Finance announced the following:

“The 2024 Fall Economic Statement announces that Terry Fox will appear on the next $5 bank note. Sir Wilfrid Laurier will move from the $5 bank note to appear on the next version of the $50 note.”

There can be no doubt that the choice of Terry Fox is both inspirational and universally applauded. However, I have to express my disappointment with the decision to move Laurier over to the $50 note.

This was a missed opportunity. A full four years ago, after extensive consultations, a short list of 8 fully-vetted banknote candidates were submitted to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland for her final decision.

Three years later, given the slow decision making process, I proposed a radical makeover of our whole banknote system. Continue reading →

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Lotta Hitschmanova to appear on the new Canadian $5 banknote?

As we celebrate the 113th birthday of celebrated humanitarian Lotta Hitschmanova today, Dr. Lotta’s fans will be pleased to know that her name still finds itself on the short list of 8 notable Canadians to appear on our new $5 banknote.

The pace of government can often seem incredibly slow, and yes, it has been over 2 years since the short list was created, after more than 600 nominees had been submitted by Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

I suspect it may be challenging for Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to choose a single individual to appear on the banknote, and I have thus proposed a creative solution to the problem:

To select Terry Fox, Lotta Hitschmanova and Isapo-muxika (Crowfoot) to appear together on our next $5 banknote.

Continue reading →