The Royal Canadian Mint has responded to a campaign protesting oil tanker traffic off the Vancouver coast with a cease and desist order.
The campaign, created by Vancouver agency Rethink Communications, put stickers on loonies to make the birds appear to be covered in oil.
In letters sent to Dogwood Initiative and businesses involved in the campaign, the Mint accuses the BC-based non-profit of trademark violations and contravening the Currency Act (Section 11) by using Canadian coins for purposes other ‘than as currency’ and warns of possible summary convictions, fines and imprisonment.
Dogwood Initiative’s Communications Director Charles Campbell denies that the coins have been defaced, saying in a statement that ‘The notanker decals can be removed by a flick of the finger and the loonies brought back to their former selves. The same can’t be said of an oil spill on our coast.’
