I'd love to see an appropriate commemorative note from BoC. But I can't see the government in their current hack and slash mode approving of the idea.
Toews in the news conference on the closure of two prisons said: "The changes will occur over the next two years and will save $120 million a year, by eliminating costs of running the buildings themselves, said Toews." Source:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1164288--kingston-penitentiary-infamous-prison-to-be-shut-down?bn=1.
Assuming that there's no volume discount for printing the polymers and each note does indeed cost 20 cents, the batch of new $100 would cost (.2 * 23 * 10000000) or 46,000,000. Does the government really write a check for $46,000,000 to CBN??? Maybe it's based on deliveries so the payments are received over time - helps with cash flow! :-D.
Remember the numbers for the commemorative 1967 one dollar note. 12000000 printed, plus the regular serial numbered notes. The birds/journey matched serial number sets, 50000 of each. I guess there has to be sufficient numbers to justify the press time.
If there were just one prefix for a commemorative on polymer, that's (.2 * 10000000) or $2,000,000. Could you imagine the backlash from the media, special interest groups, or the general population (bank note collectors excluded) if they found out the two million was spent on a commemorative note. The headline: $2 million on commemorative note that could have been put toward prisons (or whatever the government just hacked to ribbons).
Guess I'm just being a wet blanket...
John
