Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Mint sale faces opposition
Crown corporation currently being reviewed for relevance
THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES Enlarge Image
Winnipeg's Royal Canadian Mint
The Mint, which employs more than 300 people at its Winnipeg manufacturing plant, is among the Crown enterprises currently being reviewed for its relevance as a government-owned company. The review comes as Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is hoping to glean up to $4 billion from the sale of government assets or spending cuts this year to keep the budget deficit at $34 billion.
Mike Storeshaw, Flaherty's director of communications, said the Mint is not being specifically targeted but over the next year finance officials will look at it to determine how relevant it is to the core things the government can and should be doing, and whether or not there are any changes that should be made to its structure or ownership to improve its value to taxpayers.
"The government will only proceed with transactions that realize fair value for taxpayers and make economic sense," said Storeshaw.
On the list for review this year are any enterprise Crown corporation within the departments of finance, Indian Affairs, transport and natural resources, such as Canada Post, VIA Rail and the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority.
The Mint falls within the department of transport and Don Drummond, chief economist of TD Bank Financial Group, said the Mint would be a leading candidate for privatization.
"The Royal Canadian Mint, absolutely, could be privatized," said Drummond. "In fact, much of what the Mint does right now is printing money for other countries, which has nothing really to do with Canada. But it makes money, so why not?"
The Mint, which has plants in Winnipeg and Ottawa, had a net profit of more than $21 million in 2007 and paid more than $9 million in income taxes. In addition to Minting almost two billion coins for Canada in 2007, it produced more than two billion coins and blanks for 12 countries around the globe including New Zealand, Ghana and Papua New Guinea, all at its Winnipeg plant.
The Ottawa offices house the headquarters and Mint commemorative coins and medals.
Ken Wong, a business professor at Queen's University, said privatizing an enterprise like the Mint could actually allow it to expand the memorabilia side of the business.
"As a government agency they are just charged with making currency," said Wong. "If you're going to be in memorabilia why just dip your toe in when you can immerse your whole body."
Wong said the bottom line for determining privatization should be whether or not Canadians are better off owning the asset or not. Among the factors to go into the decision would be the cost to the government of running the enterprise including the added bureaucracy and hassle to a minister, the price the government could get from the sale of the asset and the long-term impact of losing the asset as a source of annual revenue, versus the increase in taxes that would be paid if the company expands once it is privatized.
Wong noted government-owned assets are not solely focused on the business case when making decisions and are also driven by political and national interests which can mean they are less efficient.
If the government were to proceed with selling the Mint, it would not happen without a fight. Liberal MP Anita Neville said she fears for the jobs in Winnipeg and said the government would have to have a very good reason for touching the Mint.
"It definitely concerns me," she said.
NDP MP Pat Martin said it was a "national insult" to even consider selling off a heritage corporation like the Mint.
Patty Ducharme, the executive vice president for PSAC, said the union will fight against privatization tooth and nail.
The Winnipeg plant of the Royal Canadian Mint focuses on the manufacturing of coins for Canada and foreign countries. The Ottawa plant produces commemorative coins and medals and has a gold and silver refinery.
Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg
Established in 1976
Number of employees: 316
2007 by the numbers:
1.9 billion - number of Canadian coins produced at the Mint in Winnipeg
2.2 billion - number of foreign currency coins produced at the Mint in Winnipeg
$289.3 million - revenue to RCM from Winnipeg plant production of Canadian and foreign coins
Canadian coins produced:
947.9 million pennies
221.4 million nickels
304.1 million dimes
386.8 million quarters
38.1 million loonies
38.9 million toonies
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 19, 2009 A4
- Rate this

-
-
We want you to tell us what you think of our articles. If the story moves you, compels you to act or tells you something you didn’t know, mark it high. If you thought it was well written, do the same. If it doesn’t meet your standards, mark it accordingly.
You can also register and/or login to the site and join the conversation by leaving a comment.
Rate it yourself by rolling over the stars and clicking when you reach your desired rating. We want you to tell us what you think of our articles. If the story moves you, compels you to act or tells you something you didn’t know, mark it high.
The comment period for this story has ended.
Ads by Google
- Back to Top
- Return to Local
-
CON >< CUSSIONS
Examining hockey head injuries
-
Random Acts of Kindness
Your encounters with goodness
-
Open Secrets
Red River students mine government data banks
-
Ski with WFP
Register here to ski Asessippi with the Winnipeg Free Press
-
Miss Lonelyhearts
Maureen Scurfield offers life advice
Poll
Most Popular
- Off-duty officer stops assault on Transit driver
- New cutting machine breaks through ice near Selkirk
- Crusader up for Nobel Prize
- Fixing the house; The oldest curling rink in the West gets cash for fix-up
- Police looking for pair who tried to grab boy
- Are you affected by the Daylight Savings Time change?
- Will Bettman tear down Sun Belt wall?
- Mr. Matas a worthy nominee
- Couple taken to hospital after stabbing
- Will Bettman tear down Sun Belt wall?
- Crusader up for Nobel Prize
- From poster couple to problem couple
- Manitoban wheelchair-user badly beaten in Australia
- Police shoot and kill suspect
- Six-year-old leads RCMP to attacker
- Woman injured after being struck by train
- Musician's mother dies
- Gang showdown 'imminent'
- Looters target family's home
- School slapped for bully's actions
- Olympic-sized hypocrisy
- Crusader up for Nobel Prize
- Not wrong, just illegal
- Teacher's lapdance caught on tape, watched by world
- Students could be punished
- Is this the worst Olympics ever?
- Second video of lap dance uncovered
- Missing Stonewall man found dead
- What should happen to two teachers who performed a sexually suggestive dance routine in front of students?
- Two winners for $50 million Lotto Max jackpot
- Off-duty officer stops assault on Transit driver
- New cutting machine breaks through ice near Selkirk
- Other provinces leery about withholding public services due to religious garb
- Will Bettman tear down Sun Belt wall?
- Remember to spring clocks forward this weekend
- Greyhound apologizes for stranding passengers
- Lady Gaga video premiere clogs web pipes
- Stranded on the side of the road
- Fixing the house; The oldest curling rink in the West gets cash for fix-up
- Will Bettman tear down Sun Belt wall?
- Wielding a weapon costs a life
- Police shoot and kill suspect
- Greyhound apologizes for stranding passengers
- You can't keep grandpa from seeing baby despite childish family dynamics
- Aboriginal elders removed from court on Hydro hearing
- Gang showdown 'imminent'
- Lesbian teen faces classmates after school cancels dance over her request to bring girlfriend
- Explore drug aids before giving up sex
- Looters target family's home
- No more quick fixes: mayor
- Teacher's lapdance caught on tape, watched by world
- MP may regret taking aim at Christian youth centre: Mayor Katz
- Students could be punished
- Police shoot and kill suspect
- Second video of lap dance uncovered
- More ominous issue underlies Youth for Christ flap
- Wielding a weapon costs a life
- Mounties hook ice-fishers for open beer
- Youth centre sparks dispute
- Canadian women's hockey team stunned by reaction to post-gold party
- New cutting machine breaks through ice near Selkirk
- Olympic hero Montgomery lands back on the Prairies
- Motor Coach chops staff by over 50%
- Exclusive: Holy folk!
- Egg board embraces chicken emancipation
- Off-duty officer stops assault on Transit driver
- Older women invading Facebook
- Other provinces leery about withholding public services due to religious garb
- Point Douglas natives SAY NO TO CRIME
- Ex-Crocus CEO Kreiner drops lawsuit
- Manitoban wheelchair-user badly beaten in Australia
- Indian Act changing to treat descendants equitably
- Socialism for the rich is Tory way
- Cabela's to open across Canada
- Iceland airline bullish about Winnipeg
- New cutting machine breaks through ice near Selkirk
- Gang showdown 'imminent'
- Older women invading Facebook
- Schooling future soccer stars
- It’s The Sounds of Silence, unless you have big bucks
- Text of Shane Koyczan's opening ceremonies poem, "We Are More"
- Teacher's lapdance caught on tape, watched by world
- Olympic-sized hypocrisy
- Cabela's to open across Canada
- Oprah's on, and so is our Jon!
- Not wrong, just illegal
- Online drug pioneer tumbles
- Mounties hook ice-fishers for open beer
- No listings for buyers flooding the housing market
- Second video of lap dance uncovered
PREVIOUS

2 Comments
Posted by: Newsjunkie
February 19, 2009 at 12:40 PM
So we should give some private interests monopolistic control over the production of our money. So Canada is going to purchase its own currency from this for-profit organization that is not accountable to the public. What happens if somewhere down the road the price of supplies dramatically goes up and this company takes a loss? Well I guess they'd try to find ways to significantly cut costs. What would this mean in terms of security or the flexibility to produce what we need when we need it? Our money supply affects our economy. That's an awful lot of power for one private company. What if Canada doesn't like their services? Do we go buy our money from the US Federal Reserve instead? Gee... sounds like a bright idea to me.
Posted by: Braiden Harvey
February 19, 2009 at 6:33 AM
So What you are telling me is I can buy the business and print my own money. Makes perfect sense to me. Briaden Harvey