Canadians and Their Money

In light of these considerations, along with the fact that there is no national figureat present with a mandate devoted solely to financial literacy, we propose that theGovernment of Canada appoint a suitable individual as leader of the National“The federal government should play the lead Strategy. This individual would be non-partisan androle – within an agreed-upon partnership directly accountable to the Minister of Finance and wouldarrangement with involved stakeholders – inhave a clear mandate to work collaboratively with variousstrengthening and promoting financial literacythrough any national Canadian-made strategy.” levels of government and other stakeholders to oversee– Certified General Accountants the Strategy, implement the recommendations andAssociation of Canadachampion the message of financial literacy nationwide.Additionally, the Financial Literacy Leader would work with and support stakeholdersin their financial literacy activities, act as a catalyst and “home” for continuingresearch and innovation, and ensure a Canadian voice in the development andsharing of international principles and best practices in the field. We envision thatthe Financial Literacy Leader would also help the Government of Canada integrateand leverage its efforts to promote financial literacy by coordinating the work of allfederal departments and agencies with a stake in the issue.PrinciplesIn designing an effective leadership role, we put forth the following key principlesto serve the National Strategy and ensure its objectives are achieved:• Efficiency: Although resources dedicated to financial literacy are already in placeacross the federal sphere, better coordinating efforts to integrate some functionsand leverage services across departments can realize efficiencies. We believethat the resources required to fulfill a new leadership role can derive largely fromexisting allocations. As described in the next principle, this is about bringing morecohesion and focus to the effort rather than adding resources in a period ofsevere fiscal constraints.• Focus: As our report demonstrates, financial literacy has many dimensions. Tosucceed, the National Strategy requires a clear mandate and single-minded focuson financial literacy. This clarity of purpose will sustain efficient work over the long26TASK FORCE ON FINANCIAL LITERACY – II. Leadership and Collaboration