Mr. Speaker, first, it goes without saying that we support the idea of saving money; the government mentioned the figure of $250 million over a 20-year period by replacing two dollar bills with two dollar coins. True, the coin would last much longer; but there are costs involved in issuing such a new coin. The government does not need to issue another coin; it should simply abolish that denomination.
If the two dollar bill is replaced by a two dollar coin, it will result in savings of $250 million over 20 years, but how much would be saved if we issued more two dollar bills?
In reference to the figure of $400 million mentioned in the speech made on Friday by the Bloc critic, the hon. member for Québec-Est, Jean-Paul Marchand, it may be that I am missing some element, but I said that, in my opinion, it would be possible to save $25 million, in the short term.
I challenge anyone in this House to tell me just how much, give or take two dollars, it would cost the municipalities to make the necessary changes to their parking meters, not to mention such other items as vending machines. What would be the costs of such changes?
I doubt anyone here can provide such an accurate figure. However, before passing such legislation, we have to take a look at the costs involved for those who own vending machines. These costs will also be passed on to consumers. Indeed, consumers always end up footing the bill.
In conclusion, the government should seriously consider abolishing the two dollar denomination. This would help circulate the $10 billion in one dollar coins which are currently unused and kept in Canadian banks. The minute people have a couple of one dollar coins in their pocket, they exchange them for a two dollar bill, because they find these coins to be cumbersome.
Indeed, when we have a few of these coins, we quickly exchange them for bills. Consequently, if you add an even heavier and more cumbersome two dollar coin, you will create a problem for everyone, and that becomes a real nuisance.