The Bank of Canada is honouring the country's veterans and fighting counterfeiters at the same time.
It held a press conference at the Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters in Charlottetown Wednesday to unveil the new $20 bank note and toss it into circulation.
Mark O'Brien, P.E.I.'s member on the board of directors for the Bank of Canada, was joined by Charlotte Stewart, acting deputy minister for DVA, at the press conference.
The introduction of the $20 note is part of the new polymer series. The new $50 and $100 polymer notes are already in circulation.
The difference in this case is the $20 note is the most used denomination in Canada. There are currently 800 million $20 notes in circulation.
An image of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial is featured on the country's new $20 bill. It's intended to commemorate the 1917 victory at Vimy Ridge in France and also features an updated portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.
The new $20 note has a holographic security feature, raised ink and metallic image printed on a transparent window that is supposed to make it harder for counterfeiters to duplicate.
"There is no other currency like them,'' said O'Brien. "The unique combination of transparency, holographic and other sophisticated security elements makes them world firsts. It ensures we are staying ahead of counterfeiters.''
It was certainly no accident that the new note was unveiled during the week leading up to Remembrance Day.
"It was supposed to be the war to end all wars. Sadly, it was not,'' Stewart said, referring to the First World War. "It was a war that changed the world . . . and now we have a bank note that recalls part of the past today.''
dstewart@theguardian.pe.ca
Twitter.com/DveStewart
