We’re fond of saying that Toronto is not very representative of Canada as a whole. Sometimes it seems the city is barely part of this large land. So it is again as we hear that focus groups in Toronto concluded that the depiction of what appears to an Asian scientist on the new $100 bills was just fine. But in places like Quebec and in the New Brunswick capital of Fredericton, there was great discomfort that an Asian might appear on our currency. The Bank of Canada decided to get rid of the image and in the end, it was replaced by a figure which is said to look Caucasian. In isolation, there’s nothing wrong with this outcome. It isn’t essential to have a person of Asian appearance depicted on our bank notes. But the idea that it made people — presumably white people — feel uncomfortable is sad. Toronto is not Canada, and on some days those of us who live here will find that a bitter reality. Ottawa Citizen
