Social Responsibility

Cash-light Society

Environmental sustainability is critical to addressing climate change, but it isn’t the only area of importance. Social responsibility — both within the Mint and outside of it — is essential to building greater resiliency as an organization and as a nation. This is top of mind as Canada increasingly adopts digital payment alternatives and transforms into a cash-light society. Unbanked or underbanked people — from the unhoused and new arrivals, to the elderly and those living in remote communities — still rely on cash to participate in trade and commerce. The Mint’s coin management system is integral to building socio-economic equity and ensuring everyone in Canada can participate in the Canadian economy. This is one cornerstone of our social responsibility program, which is continuing to evolve both internally and in the community. 

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As part of our inclusionary ethos, we worked in 2021 with Black Canadians and First Nations communities in the Yukon to create commemorative coins. In the first case, we worked with Nova Scotia’s Black Loyalist Heritage Society to design a $20 silver coin honouring the free and enslaved Black people who resettled in British North America around the time of the American Revolution. In the second, we partnered with members of the Carcross/Tagish and Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in First Nations to create a circulation loonie that pays tribute to Indigenous people forcibly displaced during the Klondike Gold Rush.

Our commitment to representation is ongoing. In 2022, Oscar Peterson, the iconic, internationally renowned pianist who grew up in Montreal’s Little Burgundy neighbourhood, became the first musician and first Black Canadian to be commemorated on a Canadian circulation coin.

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Also in 2022, the Mint partnered with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) and its Survivors Circle to produce the Truth and Reconciliation Keepsake. “Every child matters” is inscribed on the keepsake, which is both a reminder of the 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children taken from their families forced into residential, day and boarding schools across Canada, and a call to action for Canadians to integrate reconciliation into their everyday lives. The net proceeds of the Truth and Reconciliation keepsake will be donated to NCTR’s Na-mi-quai-ni-mak Community Support Fund for survivors and their communities.

Na-mi-quai-ni-mak means “I remember them” in Anishinaabemowin.

This keepsake is part of the Mint’s Charitable Program. Our first charitable product — launched in June 2020 to recognize essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic — allowed us to donate almost $750,000 to Breakfast Club of Canada, an organization that provides meals to school children across the country.

This keepsake is part of the Mint’s Charitable Program. Our first charitable product — launched in June 2020 to recognize essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic — allowed us to donate almost $750,000 to Breakfast Club of Canada, an organization that provides meals to school children across the country. In 2021, we created the Mental Health Medal with net proceeds going to Kids Help Phone, which helps youth access mental health support.

“Over the last three years, the Mint has used recovered material to manufacture the keepsakes, and Mint employees have donated their time to package them in an effort to keep production costs as low as possible to maximize donations,” says Michelle Richardson, the Mint’s Chief Impact Officer. “This program is incredibly close to the hearts of Mint employees who take pride in helping their communities.”

Caring Culture

Internally, the Mint is continuously developing its caring culture by investing in employee programs aimed at improving access to education, health and wellness. Those range from flexible work practices, generous parental and compassionate leave programs, to tuition scholarships that contribute to the education of employees and their college-aged children.