Canada New Bills: Snow, Alternate Energy, Medicare, Gay Marriage, Black Hockey Player Images Nixed, Report Shows

Canada New Bills: Gay Marriage, Black Hockey Player Images Nixed, Report Shows by Dean Beeby, The Canadian Press, February 10, 2013, huffingtonpost.ca
The reasons for early rejection are not clear in the heavily censored documents, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act. The images that were finally approved for the reverses of the five new bills — the last two denominations, the $5 and $10, are being released later this year — lack reference to Canada’s diversity of ethnicity, culture and colour. … Asked why the bank in 2008 considered depicting people of different ethnic backgrounds when it was contrary to the institution’s “long-held principles,” Harrison said that focus-groups were given “the freedom to generate the widest possible range of ideas.” He also said the image lists from 2008 were themselves not final, but winnowed further in 2009 for presentation and approval by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty in January 2010. Harrison declined follow-up questions: “We have nothing further to add.” The Strategic Counsel reports and image lists from 2008 contain other sometimes surprising elements that did not make the grade:
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— Images that included snow “may become more controversial should global warming progress,” and are best avoided, said some.
— Pictures of wind turbines and solar panels were rejected because “clean energy is a controversial concept.”
— Portraits of Terry Fox, Liberal Prime Minister Lester Pearson, and medicare trailblazer Tommy Douglas were all nixed.