Canadians and Their Money

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Taken together, formal education, just-in-time learning at key life events and insightsgleaned from behavioural economics will provide Canadians with the foundation tomake better financial choices throughout their lives.4. Delivery and PromotionGiven the multi-jurisdictional and multi-stakeholder environment in which financialliteracy education takes place in Canada, effective delivery is a theme that runsthrough virtually all of our recommendations.One of the challenges to effective delivery of financial literacy initiatives is the needto reach and to engage Canadians so that they become aware of, and participatein, targeted initiatives of benefit to them. In our recommendations we emphasize theneed for a sustained public awareness campaign on financial literacy, supported bythe proposed single source website.We believe that a single source website is key to allowing Canadians to informthemselves with high-quality, unbiased information from a range of expert sources.The website will facilitate the consolidation and dissemination of financial literacyinformation and programs. Suggestions for the website content include a selfassessmenttool and retirement calculators for individuals.Another challenge for effective delivery is clear communications. Canadians needfinancial information and advice that is relevant, understandable and engaging,and we believe governments and financial services providers have a responsibilityto ensure that their communications meet these criteria.5. AccountabilityThe primary instrument for accountability in the execution of the National Strategy isthe above-mentioned appointment by the federal Minister of Finance of an individualresponsible for the Strategy and directly accountable to the Minister. This would8TASK FORCE ON FINANCIAL LITERACY – Executive Summary
ensure, at the highest level, accountability to Canadians through Parliament. Thisindividual would also publish an annual report on implementation, programs andnational progress as measured by the key indicators cited in this report.Ongoing program evaluation is, of course, vital to the success of the Strategy.Only with effective evaluation can we optimize the use of programs that workand quickly abandon or repair those that are ineffective. Our recommendationstherefore address the necessary evaluation of initiatives and identify the needfor the Government of Canada to enhance the evaluation capabilities of financialliteracy education providers.No evaluation of program effectiveness would be complete without a measurementof overall impact on the financial literacy of Canadians. This will likely involveongoing survey mechanisms at the national level as well as Canada’s activeparticipation in comparative international assessments. Statistics Canada’s 2009Canadian Financial Capability Survey has paved the way for the development of aNational Financial Literacy Index, presented in this report, to serve as both a reportcard on current efforts and a benchmark for future progress.Conclusion: The Way ForwardThe Task Force on Financial Literacy has set out the main priorities for a NationalStrategy on Financial Literacy. The Task Force believes that the National Strategyproposed here will enable Canadians to begin a collaborative journey towardstrengthening the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to make responsiblefinancial decisions at every stage of their lives.TASK FORCE ON FINANCIAL LITERACY – Executive Summary 9
Page 1 and 2: Report of Recommendations on Financ
Page 3 and 4: Table of ContentsAcknowledgements..
Page 5 and 6: AcknowledgementsContributions of ma
Page 7 and 8: www.financialliteracyincanada.comTh
Page 9 and 10: touches all residents, our recommen
Page 11: 3. Lifelong LearningWe believe that
Page 15 and 16: • Navigate the ever-changing fina
Page 17 and 18: Figure 1: National Average Scores,
Page 19 and 20: Figure 3: Ratio of Household Debt t
Page 21 and 22: Figure 4: Key Results from the 2003
Page 23 and 24: Figure 6: National Strategy on Fina
Page 25 and 26: GovernmentsGovernments are uniquely
Page 27 and 28: play a crucial role in providing fi
Page 29 and 30: Figure 7: Shared Responsibility - M
Page 31 and 32: term. Further, the mandate should n
Page 33 and 34: • Enable stakeholders to be activ
Page 35 and 36: Figure 9: Life EventsReceivingunexp
Page 37 and 38: Figure 10: Essential Skills - Money
Page 39 and 40: We commend those authorities who ar
Page 41 and 42: Governments may consider leveraging
Page 43 and 44: considering the purchase of a finan
Page 45 and 46: “lunch and learn” seminars and
Page 47 and 48: The Role of Professional AdviceThe
Page 49 and 50: In some cases, programs reach many
Page 51 and 52: Student Loans Directorate at the De
Page 53 and 54: The UAS is also “designed to incr
Page 55 and 56: Throughout the public consultation
Page 57 and 58: since 1982. His report, entitled
Page 59 and 60: Take-up of Government BenefitsEarli
Page 61 and 62: Programs for SavingIn our deliberat
Page 63 and 64:
programs. We encourage, as a supple
Page 65 and 66:
When it comes to online learning, h
Page 67 and 68:
Public Awareness CampaignCreative a
Page 69 and 70:
Fraud Prevention and EducationWe pr
Page 71 and 72:
Self-Assessment ToolStudies and sur
Page 73 and 74:
contests could also be used to fost
Page 75 and 76:
ear a responsibility to communicate
Page 77 and 78:
The federal, provincial and territo
Page 79 and 80:
4.5.Planning ahead (thinking about
Page 81 and 82:
students have acquired some of the
Page 83 and 84:
and offer funding and professional
Page 85 and 86:
To that end, the Government should
Page 87 and 88:
Important research gaps remain, how
Page 89 and 90:
Conclusion: The Way ForwardSuccess
Page 91 and 92:
AppendicesAppendix A: Summary of Re
Page 93 and 94:
19. The Task Force recommends that
Page 95 and 96:
Appendix B: Members of the Task For
Page 97 and 98:
2520151050Most Canadians are making
Page 99 and 100:
2520151050Few Canadians keep themse
Page 101 and 102:
Appendix E: Selected BibliographyTh
Page 103 and 104:
Ipsos Reid. (2009). CSA Investor In
Page 105 and 106:
Standing Senate Committee on Bankin
show all

Canadians and Their Money

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?