No More DeadHeads

 

Now that the Queen has passed away, and before Charles gets too comfortable on his throne, perhaps this would be a good opportunity to re-visit the idea of having a monarch's portrait on our currency. Why we still want to have a monarchy in this day and age is another discussion. But even worse than having a current king or queen adorning our money is having a deadhead, like one of our deceased Prime Ministers (most of whom seem to have lost the sterling reputation we embued them with in our history books) staring at us whenever we reach for our wallets.

Yes it was nice that we took a break from old Prime Ministers to acknowledge someone like Viola Desmond, a black businesswoman, who was an inspiration for the pursuit of racial equality in Canada but what about some of our First Nations personalities like Big Bear or Poundmaker who led the fight for Indigenous rights? Or better still, how about Mary Simon, our current Governor General who is an Inuit woman?

Big Bear

Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada

Maybe we should stay away from people all together and avoid any controversy over skin colour, ancestry, political beliefs, religion, or gender, and look instead to the animal kingdom to grace our bank notes. What could be more Canadian than the beaver for example, or the polar bear, or the Canada goose? For regional representation it could be the salmon or the killer whale for the west coast, the bison is surely the most iconic symbol for the prairies, and for the east coast what could be more appropriate 
than the moose.

Wouldn't pictures of these magnificent creatures be more colourful, and meaningful than the current deadheads adorning our currency? It might also remind us that we need to be looking after these animals and protecting the habitat that sustains them. The diversity of our wildlife reflects the diversity of our Canadian culture and, rather than looking to the deadheads of the past, why not instead let these iconic animals of the present serve as an inspiration to us as we confront the challenges of the future.