The penny: do we need it?

It’s time for Canadians across the country to bid adieu to the penny.

On Feb. 4, the Royal Canadian Mint discontinued the distribution of the coin to banks.

Last year in March, the announcement was made by the federal government in order to save approximately $11 million a year.

It reportedly costs 1.6 cents to produce each penny, more than it’s actually worth.

“I guess it’s  good in one way but bad in another,” Scarborough resident Stella Brothers, 70, said. “Some people say they’re still going to use them anyway. I’m going to miss it because I remember when I moved to Ontario 50 years ago, I was glad to have pennies to survive.”

“Well, yes and no,” John Doe, 42, said. “Yes because it’s been around for a long time and no because it’s kind of a pain. You have to keep all those pennies and it only takes up more room in your pocket. Yes and no I’ll miss it.”

“No, I do not care. I don’t find much of value to it. I do agree with them getting rid of it,“ Lester Penalosa, a 19-year-old student said.

Melanie, 27, an assistant events coordinator said, “I guess it’s not a necessity once you get rid of it but why get rid of it? I don’t see what’s wrong with it. It seems like an unnecessary process to get rid of it. There wasn’t anything wrong with it.”

“Well, according to the mathematical calculations, what I’ve seen, I don’t think we need it,” Dennis Grant-Stuart, 71, said. “I don’t think I’m going to miss it.”

“No. Like they said, it costs more to make now than it’s worth,” William Barker, 53, said. “It’s going to be around for a few more years, so once it’s finally gone I don’t think we’re going to miss it too much.”

“It’s a good thing because pennies are useless and they take up space in your wallet,” Ben Barton, 22, said.

”I don’t really think we need the penny,” Alexandra Merino, 22, said. “They make a valid point of it costing more to make than what it’s worth, especially with inflation, everything is costing more. It made sense back when things were under a dollar. But the economy is growing and changing every year.”

About this article

By: Linda Cotrina and Deidra Barton
Posted: Feb 13 2013 9:20 pm
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Filed under: Features