End is near for the penny in Canada

(WWLP) - Canada is saying so-long to the penny.

The Royal Canadian Mint stopped distributing one-cent coins to financial institutions on this week.

The decision was made to discontinue the penny because it was becoming more expensive to mint the coins than they were actually worth. People can still pay for things using pennies, but the government has asked store owners to start rounding prices to the nearest nickel.

Similar proposals to get rid of the penny have been brought up in the United States, but so far have not gone anywhere.

Paul Gorman of Longmeadow said that he probably wouldn’t miss the small coin much if it disappeared from circulation.

“I went for about two years only using a credit card or a debit card,” Gorman said. “I probably wouldn't notice.”

New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, and Sweden have also gotten rid of their one-cent coins.