Should Bank of Canada have altered image of 'Asian-looking' scientist?

The Bank of Canada altered an image of an "Asian-looking" female scientist on the new polymer $100 bill because its policy is to not depict people of a "particular ethnic origin," a spokesman says.

The design of the bill was changed after some Canadians in focus groups commissioned by the bank complained that the researcher shown on the back appeared to be Asian.

The image of the female scientist looking into a microscope, alongside a bottle of insulin and a strand of DNA, was meant to celebrate Canada's medical innovations.

"Some believe that it presents a stereotype of Asians excelling in technology and/or the sciences. Others feel that an Asian should not be the only ethnicity represented on the banknotes. Other ethnicities should also be shown," says a 2009 report commissioned by the bank from The Strategic Counsel, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.

The bank ordered that the scientist be redrawn to make her more ethnically "neutral". "The original image was not designed or intended to be a person of a particular ethnic origin," bank spokesman Jeremy Harrison said in an interview with CP.

Do you agree with the bank's decision to "neutralize" the scientist shown on the new $100 bill? Should the bank continue its policy of not depicting "ethnic" Canadians on our money? Let us know what you think.



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