The Conservatives are calling on Canadians to support a bill that would protect cash currency and ban the government from establishing a central bank digital currency.
Bill C-400, the Framework on the Access to and Use of Cash Act, successfully passed its first reading on June 13, 2024.
The bill’s sponsor, MP Ted Falk, explained that Bill C-400 would create a national framework to protect the access and use of cash in Canada. The bill would also amend the Currency Act to limit the finance minister’s ability to unilaterally call in bank notes and amend the Bank of Canada Act, prohibiting the bank from creating a digital currency.
Falk argued that such a law would further enshrine the privacy rights of Canadians guaranteed under the Charter.
“For millions of Canadians, particularly the most vulnerable folks in our population, physical cash is essential to everyday life. Likewise, charities, community organizations, and remote communities rely on cash to achieve their worthy goals,” said Falk. “Finally, in a world where governments, banks, and corporations are increasingly infringing on the privacy rights of Canadians, cash remains the only truly anonymous form of payment.”
Previous public consultations by the Bank of Canada showed that the vast majority of Canadians oppose implementing a digital currency in the country.
A whopping 86% of Canadian respondents responded negatively to the idea of a digital Canadian dollar. Conversely, only 5% indicated a positive response, with less than 1% saying Canada needs a digital currency.
Respondents were able to leave anonymous comments at the end of the consultation.
“The fear of many Canadians is to use it as an instrument of control like the Chinese social credit model. We don’t want it,” wrote one respondent in French.
“Digital dollars will be tracked by all banks, all federal agencies and the (government). They will be programmed to control what people buy, how much accessed at a single time, carbon footprint, political party affiliations, religion, and every other possible aspect of your personal life,” wrote another respondent.
When Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre mentions that he opposes digital currency at his rallies, it usually draws a lot of applause.
“Let’s protect cash use, ensure businesses accept it, remove barriers for non-profits, and maintain cash infrastructure,” Poilievre wrote in a post to X on Sunday.
While the bill aims to protect the use of cash, which is more prevalent among seniors, Indigenous people, newcomers to Canada, and low-income Canadians, it also claims that non-profit and community organizations rely on cash for charitable activities.
“And whereas cash as a form of payment provides a higher level of privacy than digital alternatives and that Canadians’ right to privacy is enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Privacy Act, as well as provincial privacy legislation,” reads the bill.
The Conservative party said that the Liberals pushed the Bank of Canada to print half a trillion dollars, doubling Canada’s debt, increasing inflation and interest rates, and leaving Canadian taxpayers with “a mountain of bills to pay-off.”
“Centralizing another currency in the hands of the government bureaucrats will only serve to make money printing schemes easier and take more power away from Canadians,” said the Conservative Party on its petition.
The framework developed by the bill will also include incentives for businesses and creditors to accept payments made in cash.
“This common-sense legislation would benefit vulnerable Canadians the most, as well as those who work so hard to support them. I hope the House will support the bill,” said Falk.
The Conservative’s petition said that the party believes digital currency should remain exclusively in the private sector, allowing Canadians to make investment choices without government influence or intervention.
“We the undersigned call on the NDP-Liberals to support common sense Conservative Bill C-400 to ban the Bank of Canada from creating a Central Bank Digital Currency and ensure legal tender (cash) continues to be available across Canada,” said the Conservative party.