TRANSLATED FROM JAPANESE

Sotokoto October 2001

Scene 1:
About 7pm on Wednesday, in a taxi from the Toronto Airport to the downtown. I asked the taxi driver if he knew about theToronto Dollar, and he said he had never heard of it. Then he was talking to another driver on the radio, and asked him about it. Yeah, I know about that. It was in the newspaper. The mayor is supporting it, said the guy with his low voice. This is my first time hearing about it. This is a big city. That's why, a lot of things happen everyday. Have fun in Toronto!

Scene 2:
At noon on Thursday, in the branch of CIBC Bank on Toronto Street. There was a sticker at the entrance of the bank that said, "Toronto Dollars Available Here." When I asked the counter clerk to exchange (my Canadian money for) Toronto Dollars, she brought out a little box. It seemed that there were new Toronto Dollar bills in the box, and, along with them, a paper to record how many bills had been exchanged. I was asked how many dollars I wanted to
change into Toronto Dollars. So I said fifty dollars.

Scene 3:
At 8 on Saturday morning, at the St. Lawrence Market in downtown Toronto. There are different colours of vegetables, fruits, flowers, and sundries in the market. There is a red signboard standing at the entrance to let people know that they can "Shop and Use Toronto Dollars."

I bought squeezed mango juice at a stand and a steamed bun at a Chinese takeaway. At both stores, people received the Toronto Dollar without hesitation. It actually surprised me that there is no surprise or awkwardness at the point of purchase with the Toronto Dollar.

Birth of the Toronto Dollar

She became especially interested in helping to solve problems in Toronto, such as housing, employment, homelessness and so on. This is how she became interested in Community Currency.

It was at the beginning of the 1990s that she got interested in Community Currency. She visited Michael Linton in the Comox Valley and studied how local currency operated there. Later, she was involved in setting up a LETS system in Vancouver. She started planning the Toronto Dollar based on the model of "Ithaca Hours" in Ithaca, New York. Ithaca Hours is different from the LETS system that Michael designed. The LETS system operates with a centrally managed accounting system, but Ithaca Hours operates with bills. Ithaca Hours has been so successful and has grown to include about 500 local companies and stores.

Joy thought that in a big city like Toronto private companies should join as members of the community currency. Then she heard about Ithaca Hours and decided to use paper money for the Toronto Dollar.

A lot of well-known people have joined with Joy to help set up the Toronto Dollar. As a famous writer Joy has social status and connections. This includes, for example, city council members, lawyers, professors, banks, local stores, and even the mayor of the city.

At the ceremony to mark the start of the Toronto Dollar in December 1999, mayor Mel Lastman declared the establishment of theToronto Dollar. Later he also gave a signed plaque as an award to the Toronto Dollar, in appreciation of its contribution to the community. He continues to be a strong supporter of the activities of the Toronto Dollar.

Roy Kusano, who works for a major law office, Baker and McKenzie, provides practical advice, on a volunteer basis, for the Board of the Toronto Dollar
Community Project Inc., a non-profit organization (NPO) that manages the Toronto Dollar.

Banknotes for the Toronto Dollar are printed at Canadian Banknote Printing Company, the same firm that prints Canadian dollars. The banknotes even have water marks on them to prevent counterfeiting.

The CIBC, a leading Canadian bank, initiated the service to exchange Canadian Dollars for Toronto Dollars. It was not an easy decision because the bank did not wish to take on any risk. However, with the enthusiasm of a young staff, the bank finally agreed to provide the service.

110% Solution
This is how the Toronto Dollar works.

1) Customers can exchange Canadian Dollars for Toronto Dollars at the participating banks or any exchange depot (e.g., the Toronto Dollar booth in the St. Lawrence Market). The exchange ratio is 1 to 1. For example, 100 Canadian Dollars for 100 Toronto Dollars. And the 10% of the total exchange goes to the NPO as a contribution. For example, 10 dollars of every 100 dollars.

2) Customers can spend Toronto Dollars at participating merchants to buy goods and services. People can spend Toronto Dollars under the same conditions as they spend regular Canadian Dollars; they can get change in Canadian Dollars. Right now, there are over 100 stores and restaurants participating, mainly in the downtown and St. Lawrence market.

3) Merchants can use Toronto Dollars obtained from their customers to purchase goods and services from other companies. Or, if they prefer, they can change those Toronto Dollars back into Canadian Dollars. But in this case, they can get only 90% of the amount (of the face value) because the 10% contribution for the NPO is deducted.

Manager of the St. Lawrence market, Jorge Carvalho says 10% is not a big deal. It is good to provide for community projects with a little money.
And we don't even have to change Toronto Dollars back into the Canadian Dollar because we can use the Toronto Dollar ourselves.
It would be ideal for Toronto Dollars to go around and circulate among people and companies. But many companies tend to cash in their Toronto Dollars for Canadian Dollars as soon as they receive Toronto Dollars.

Since the Toronto Dollar is backed by cash, it was easy for local businesses to understand, but it does require a lot of effort to manage the system.
Also, the Toronto Dollar may be the most expensive community currency in the world. Printing such money costs a considerable amount.

An aggressive expansion strategy is underway to reach more and more people in Toronto, but once the Toronto Dollar is widespread, it may have to
change to become a low cost and sustainable model. Abraham Rotstein, a professor at the University of Toronto mentions the importance of Toronto Dollar as follows.

Sound economic activities do not take place in an isolated Utopia. They are not independent from both the global and the local economic system. The important thing is balance. Our challenge is to get along with the global economy and also to nurture a local circuit of the economic system. That is why we are interested in community currency.

Those who finally benefit from the Toronto Dollar are the homeless. 10% of the cash exchanged is for people with low-incomes or who are homeless. These people are not enjoying the full benefits from the present economic system. The Toronto Dollar is aimed at creating a new circuit of the economy and the challenge is to reach out to more people in this city. (END)