And what are we to do with Charlie?
“Canada’s banknotes — one of our national symbols — have been fixated on monarchs and prime ministers for long enough. Civil rights pioneer Viola Desmond is the first, and so far only, Canadian to break that mould.” When we think about our money, the Toronto Star editorial concerning who should be depicted on our money is right ‘on the money’. For too long, we have restricted our modern bank notes and coinage to just two species: Prime Ministers and British royalty. The Star is right that this should change in a more wholesale way. Viola Desmond is just the first Canadian who was neither a PM nor a member of British Royalty to appear on a regular issue of our modern paper money. There have been many examples of commemorative…