An opinion on who should and shouldn’t be on the bill
When I pull out cash bills to pay for my coffee I hardly ever think about the faces staring back at me. I have grown accustomed to them—these faces are held in our hands so often, like pens and pencils. The Canadian identity however, has changed significantly since the time of John A. MacDonald and Wilfred Laurier; I guess most pronouncedly is that we are no longer a country that prioritizes white Anglo-Saxon men, and the British Monarchy.
The words I am writing here are more of a rant against the Old Canada—a Canada in the chokehold of colonization that prioritizes the crown of England and wealthy white English descendants over French-Canadians, Indigenous peoples, and immigrants. I’m just spitballing here, but perhaps it is time to rethink what faces represent us on our currency—to perhaps rethink about giving our money the proper diversity that our Canada represents.
Suggestions for dismissal:
John A. MacDonald:
Sir John A. did do one good thing: he was responsible for building the trans-Canada railway, thusly unifying the country. That railway however, was built on the backs of hundreds of Chinese workers that were treated little better than slaves. Following the completion of the railroad, the Canadian government, led by Sir John A., enacted policies that made it near impossible for these Chinese workers to settle in Canada with their families. He even said that Chinese workers would threaten the “Aryan” character of the domain, and that they would breed a “mongrel” race in British Columbia.
He was also a notorious drunk, but did not have any of Winston Churchill’s swagger while drinking. He was known to show up at Parliament so plastered that he could hardly talk. I have also heard that while he was giving a speech to Parliament, he threw-up all over the lectern.
Now, I am studying philosophy, so I am fully aware that I am committing an ad hominem against Sir John A., however, I fully believe we should have Canadian hero’s representing us on our currency. In short, I think we deserve better than a racist drunk on our 10-dollar bill, but then again, perhaps that is why he was put on a bill of such low value.
Queen Elizabeth II:
I remember ranting for a couple page-lengths on the pointlessness of the British monarchy holding statues and power in our country during the exam of my first year Canadian politics class. I did not get a good mark on that exam, but the point I made there remains the same here. Why is the British Monarchy still relevant to Canada? And I mean no offence to you Queen Elizabeth—you seem like a sweet-old grandma—but you are not even Canadian. How can you represent French-Canadians, Indigenous people, and thousands of immigrants that now call this country home? You can’t. So, why are you all I see when I take out money from the ATM?
Suggestions for entrance:
Louis Riel:
The man that John A. Macdonald sought to hang died as a martyr for the rights of Indigenous people. He was a freedom fighter, standing tall to the Canadian government’s colonialist chokehold. I argue that his face should represent Canada, so that we can always remember our country’s bloody and ugly history of colonization.
Pierre Trudeau:
Although many right-wing warriors would disagree with me, I’d argue that Pierre Trudeau deserves a place on our currency. His social policies helped provide Canada with cultivating the identity of celebrating diversity.
Pierre Trudeau is also French-Canadian—so in order to have true representation on our currency, we would surely need a historical figure from Quebec. Moreover, he was an intellectual and not a racist drunk.