Bank of Canada announces members of 2018 bank note Advisory Council

OTTAWA, April 4, 2016 /CNW/ - The Governor of the Bank of Canada, Stephen S. Poloz, and Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins today announced the members of an independent Advisory Council, who will develop a short list of iconic Canadian women who could be featured on the first bank note of the next series.

The Advisory Council will review the results of an open call for nominations, which continues until 15 April 2016 and has yielded more than 18,000 submissions to date.

From the submissions, the Council will develop the short list of candidates. The Governor will then consult with the Minister of Finance on this short list, and the Minister will make the final decision, in accordance with the Bank of Canada Act.

Members of the Advisory Council are

• Gurjinder Basran, writer;
• Michael Redhead Champagne, youth activist and founder of AYO! (Aboriginal Youth Opportunities);
• Margaret Conrad, Professor Emerita, History Department, University of New Brunswick;
• Francine Descarries, Professor, Department of Sociology, Université du Québec à Montréal;
• Perdita Felicien, world champion hurdler and motivational speaker;
• Merna Forster, historian and author;
• Dominic Giroux, President and Vice-Chancellor, Laurentian University.

The Council members were announced at Roberta Bondar Public School in Ottawa, where students from that school and from École élémentaire publique Gabrielle-Roy showcased their artwork featuring women who inspire them.

"It's great to see women from different times and places inspiring children today," said Governor Poloz. "We hope that this new bank note will inspire all girls and boys to see themselves as notable—perhaps even one day banknoteable—contributors to Canada."

Notes to Editors:

• Additional biographical information about the Advisory Council members is available on the Bank's website.
• Canadians can nominate an iconic woman by going to the Bank of Canada's website.
• Once they have submitted their nomination, people are encouraged to tweet it using the hashtag #bankNOTEable.
• See the list of some of the candidates nominated so far.
• Find out more about our Principles for Bank Note Design.
  Consult the Bank of Canada's Bank Notes web pages.

SOURCE Bank of Canada

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