Vote No
An Act to establish a framework for the continued access to and use of cash in Canada and to make related amendments to other Acts
This bill creates a federal framework to ensure Canadians can continue to access and use physical cash nationwide. It directs the Minister of Finance to review existing laws and policies affecting cash availability, develop measures to keep cash infrastructure viable and geographically accessible, and report to Parliament, followed by a three-year implementation review. It repeals the Governor in Council’s authority to call in (demonetize) coins and notes under the Currency Act. It amends the Bank of Canada Act to prohibit the Bank from issuing a digital form of the Canadian dollar (a central bank digital currency, or CBDC).
The bill’s goals on inclusion and resilience through cash access are worthwhile, but the blanket prohibition on a Canadian digital dollar and prescriptive cash-access mandates risk higher costs, reduced innovation, and weaker competitiveness. On balance, the conflicts with productivity, innovation, and government efficiency outweigh the benefits.
What is the projected fiscal cost of meeting the bill’s nationwide cash-access and distance criteria, and who will pay—taxpayers, financial institutions, or small businesses?
Why is the bill pre-emptively banning a Canadian digital dollar when G7 peers are piloting CBDCs, and what is the plan to prevent a loss of fintech investment and cross-border payments competitiveness?
By removing the power to call in compromised or counterfeit-prone notes and coins, how will the government ensure the safety and integrity of the currency in emergencies without slower, costlier workarounds?
Cash access may enhance inclusion and resilience, but a permanent CBDC ban could limit future financial innovation that supports long-run prosperity.
Creates a new regulatory framework with possible prescriptive access standards and constraints on merchant payment choice; prohibiting CBDC reduces policy flexibility and market experimentation.
A CBDC prohibition forecloses potential gains in payment efficiency, settlement speed, and fintech competitiveness relative to peers exploring or piloting CBDCs.
The bill is not trade-focused; any impact on export competitiveness via cross-border payments modernization is indirect and uncertain.
Outright prohibition on a digital dollar chills fintech R&D and signals policy aversion to payment innovation, likely deterring investment.
Maintaining extensive cash infrastructure and adding reporting/oversight obligations increase costs; removing call-in powers may hinder efficient currency management in crises or counterfeiting events.
No material changes to taxation or incentives.
The bill is largely administrative and precludes a potentially transformative digital infrastructure (CBDC) that could enable large-scale productivity gains.
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