The Friday File: Earlier this month Canada minted its last penny. The move will save taxpayers $11 million/year and financial institutions about $20 million/year in transportation and storage costs. In parliamentary hearings, no one opposed the idea. Canada follows Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, South Africa, Sweden and Switzerland in ditching the unit coin. Were it not for lobbyists, we could do it too!