This content is archived.
Ottawa, Friday, September 12, 2008
My husband Jean-Daniel Lafond, my daughter Marie-Éden and I are delighted to be able to join you to celebrate the 100th anniversary of an institution that is what it is today because of you.
Especially since the Royal Canadian Mint and the institution I represent are bound by historical ties.
As your president, Mr. Bennett, has already mentioned, it was in 1908 that my predecessor, the Right Honourable Earl Grey, struck the very first coin produced in the Dominion of Canada.
And I have just struck the 2008 edition of that first coin bearing the effigy of King Edward VII.
I am deeply moved by this honour.
No doubt, Lord Grey could never have imagined, 100 years ago, that the Royal Canadian Mint would earn a reputation for excellence that would extend well beyond our borders.
Your expertise today is rare.
It is an expertise that you employ to serve not only Canada, but also 74 other countries for which you produce coins.
Your techniques are renowned as some of the most highly developed in the world.
And it was this renowned skill that the Chancellery called upon to produce the Canadian version of the Victoria Cross.
The Canadian Victoria Cross, which I was privileged to unveil last May, is the highest honour in the Canadian Honours System.
This tells you a little something of the trust that your institution has earned.
Your credibility stems directly from the quality of the coins and medals you produce.
Look no further than the passion that collectors have for Canadian coins and medals, and you will know this to be true.
They recognize the precision, to say nothing of the undeniable artistic value.
What’s more, and few people know this, every collector coin is produced by hand and treated as a work of art.
But what is perhaps most remarkable is your ability to represent Canadian society and bear witness to its evolution.
Or perhaps the daring with which you combine tradition and innovation.
Take, for example, the commemorative coins, including the coin depicting the Medal of Bravery, to which the Rideau Hall team gladly lent its support.
Not to mention the magnificent coins that you have produced to reflect Aboriginal cultures.
Or the many coins created to raise public awareness of social or public health issues, like the coin bearing the pink ribbon, a symbol of the fight against breast cancer.
That coin, I might add, won the 2007 Most Inspirational Coin Award at the World Money Fair.
Every coinillustrates part of what we are, our history, the richness of our country, the events that shape us, the values we hold dear, the causes in which we believe.
They speak of us, of our past, present and future.
It is not surprising that the value of our money is not simply monetary, but symbolic or even sentimental as well, and that Canadians are so proud of it.
Who among us, besides collectors, does not have some Canadian currency tucked away, holding on to it for its rarity, its originality, its beauty or the memories it evokes?
For one hundred years, the Royal Canadian Mint and you, its employees, have been a part of our history and our day-to-day lives.
And you make the most of this constant presence in our lives to remind us the importance of celebrating who we are.
Thank you for the invaluable work you do with such vision and enthusiasm.
Here’s to another 100 years of success for the Royal Canadian Mint!