People Are Literally Cutting $20 Bills in Half to Make Change in Quebec

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Some residents of a city in Quebec have apparently decided that they can do whatever the fuck they want, and hence, have begun cutting regular Canadian bills in half in a move to create their own currency. Some merchants and customers in the city of Gaspé, located on a peninsula in the eastern Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region of the Canadian province, have recently started using said currency, known creatively as the "Half."

So far, only a handful of businesses are known to be accepting the made-up form of money. According to those using the Half in Gaspé, the implementation of the cut-up bills encourages people to spend locally.

"Retailers who accept these are making a promise to buy local…They have to know about it to use it, and that creates a tighter network," Michelle Secours, a retailer in Gaspé, told CBC in French. "It's a way to keep circulating the money locally."

Currently, it is not known how many of the halved bills are in circulation, nor is it even clear how exactly this economic initiative will actually benefit the city. However, as the Canadian dollar becomes increasingly weak, it's no wonder some feel the urge to literally cut up their money.

Though it is not a criminal offense in Canada to cut up money the way some of those in Gaspé are, the Bank of Canada does discourage the mutilation of bills, including marking, writing, and maiming.

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