By Gina Gomez
Ottawa, Mar 7, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Canadian currency is all set to get a makeover with the federal government declaring recently that the country’s currency likely to be replaced by plasticized versions by late next year. It has also been revealed that the Bank of Canada is hoping to begin the printing of the new plastic bills within the next eighteen months. Presently, the bills are made from a cotton based polymer.

The latest initiative of the federal government to modernize the Canadian currency as well as prevent counterfeiting was revealed by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on Thursday, as a part of the federal budget in the Parliament. The move is said to be taken by the Canadian government with the aim of increasing the shell life of the bills by as much as three times. Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada has also stated that the new bills would boast of many positive attributes as they can be recycled, are much more resistant to tearing and at the same are difficult to be fabricated. However, it has come to light that the new bills would not be in circulation until 2011.

While talking about the new move, Julie Girard, spokesperson of Bank of Canada has refused to divulge intrinsic details about the new currencies, as the date when it would actually come into circulation is quite far off. Moreover, it has also been stated that not much information is being divulged as of now to prevent potential counterfeiters from producing fake bills. The plastic material for the currencies would be furnished to Canada by an Australian company.