MasterRaistlin
Dear Mr. Armstrong,
This is in response to your e-mail inquiry of June 11 requesting information on the legalities of defacing bank notes.
Prior to 1991, it was stipulated in the Bank Act that defacement of bank notes in any way was an offence. However, the Bank Act was revised in 1992 and this provision was excluded. Consequently, the action of writing on bank notes is no longer illegal or covered by new legislation.
Although it is no longer an offence, the Bank of Canada would not encourage this practice from the standpoint of maintaining the integrity of our currency and the fact that the bank note would probably be destroyed sooner than it would have been otherwise.
I hope this information will be helpful and thank you for your interest in Canadian currency.
Regards,
Sylvie Dionne
Currency Education
Bank of Canada
1 888 513-8212
Took them long enough hey? Think I should forward this to any banks??
