TORONTO - A federal private member's bill to scrap the penny was immediately supported Wednesday by Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. New Democrat Pat Martin says killing off the coin, which is now made of steel and not copper, would save millions each year.
Martin's bill calls on Canada to follow the lead of Australia, France, Spain and New Zealand and scrap the penny, an idea McGuinty said he agreed with.
"A penny ain't what it used to be,'' McGuinty said before a cabinet meeting.
"We've got so many retail outlets now that give you an opportunity to take-a-penny, leave-a-penny type of thing. I just think that a nickel is probably more practical.''
McGuinty joked with reporters that his anti-penny stand could come back to haunt him.
"I've just created the impetus here for a pro-penny movement,'' he said.
"They'll be marching on the front lawn next week I'm sure. McGuinty's against the pennies. I've already dug myself in deep here. There's no way out.''
When it was pointed out the U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barrack Obama is also musing about scrapping the U.S. penny if he wins the November election, McGuinty suggested the media were getting a little desperate in their search for news.
"You're really trying to turn this into some kind of a story aren't you?''
