I'll just flag that I am not the expert on the penny, but I will do my best.
The Royal Canadian Mint will cease distributing pennies to financial institutions effective this fall, 2012. Businesses and individuals will then be able to redeem pennies through their financial institutions for melting and recycling of the metal content.
Pennies will retain their value and can be used indefinitely. So the consumers will be able to continue using their pennies for as long as they care to do so.