Vol. 148, No. 1 — January 1, 2014

Registration

SOR/2013-247 December 13, 2013

ROYAL CANADIAN MINT ACT

Order Authorizing the Issue and Determining the Composition, Dimensions and Designs of a One Dollar Circulation Coin

P.C. 2013-1402 December 12, 2013

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, pursuant to sections 6.4 (see footnote a) and 6.5 (see footnote b) of the Royal Canadian Mint Act (see footnote c), authorizes the issue of a one dollar circulation coin, the characteristics of which are to be as specified in item 2.2 (see footnote d) of Part 2 of the schedule to that Act and the diameter of which is to be 26.5 mm, and determines the design of the coin to be as follows:

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Order.)

Issues

The Royal Canadian Mint (Mint) wishes to produce a $1 circulation coin as part of a Commemorative Circulation Coin Program to support Canadian athletes participating in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Pursuant to sections 6.4 and 6.5 of the Royal Canadian Mint Act, the Governor in Council may, by order, authorize the issue of circulation coins of a denomination listed in Part 2 of the schedule and determine the design of any circulation coin to be issued.

Background

The Commemorative Circulation Coin Program assists in the promotion of Canada, Canadian values, culture and history to Canadians. These special coins raise awareness of celebrations and anniversaries of importance to Canadians and create engagement with the Canadian public.

Objectives

Description

This Order authorizes the Royal Canadian Mint to issue and produce the 2014 Olympic Winter Games’ Lucky Loonie, which features a Canadian loon preparing for flight and the Canadian Olympic Committee logo. This design also appeared on the 2012-dated Lucky Loonie.

“One-for-One” Rule

This Order does not impose new administrative costs on business. Therefore, the “One-for-One” Rule does not apply.

Small business lens

This Order does not impose new administrative or compliance costs on small business. Therefore, the small business lens does not apply.

Rationale

This initiative is consistent with government policies and programs which provide support for Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes (e.g. the Sport Support Program, an initiative of the Canadian Sport Policy 2012). The federal government announced in January 2013 that it was providing funding totalling $31 million in support of Canada’s high performance athletes across 11 sporting disciplines.

This coin will celebrate our Canadian athletes participating in the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and provide all Canadians with a valued memento to cheer them on and wish them luck.

Because these coins are available at face value and circulate widely, public demand is high with many coins being collected and taken out of circulation. Commemorative circulation coin programs create important benefits by contributing to the overall success of the event being celebrated as well as generating additional revenue for the Government.

The Royal Canadian Mint has had success with previously issued coins featuring both the “Lucky Loonie” and sports themes. This will be the sixth “Lucky Loonie” coin issued since 2004. Also, one-dollar coins celebrating the 100th anniversaries of the Montréal Canadiens hockey club (2009) and the Saskatchewan Roughriders football club (2010) proved to be especially popular and sought after by Canadians.

Contact

Marguerite F. Nadeau, Q.C.
Vice-President
Corporate and Legal Affairs, and Corporate Secretary
Royal Canadian Mint
320 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G8
Telephone: 613-993-1732
Fax: 613-990-4665
Email: nadeau@mint.ca