Canadians and Their Money

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Prime Minister’s Awards for Teaching Excellence. These awards, managed byIndustry Canada, honour outstanding elementary and secondary school teachers inall disciplines who instill in their students a love of learning and equip them with theskills they need to meet the societal and economic challenges of the 21st century.The introduction of this new mark of distinction for financial literacy instruction willcreate an opportunity to shed light on teachers’ innovations in the classroom whileat the same time spreading financial literacy awareness.Recommendation 22The Task Force recommends that governments and private sector organizations initiatefinancial literacy awards and competitions for youth, students and workforces in Canada. Forexample, the Government of Canada should establish a new teacher award in financial literacyeducation, administered through the Prime Minister’s Awards for Teaching Excellence.Clear CommunicationsWe know that the manner in which information is communicated can present asignificant obstacle to greater financial literacy. This was a recurring theme during“Basic financial information our public consultations. Despite the abundance of products andneeds to be simplified and marketing materials offered by financial institutions, much of whateasily accessible so thatexists is too complex for the average consumer to understand, and isanyone can use it.”– Students in Free Enterprise not expressed in clear, plain language. Even advanced readers mightfind some disclosure documents of financial institutions difficult tograsp. We do acknowledge the attempts of many financial institutions to improvetheir communications over the past few years; however, more must be done.In its 2009 report Transparency, Balance and Choice: Canada’s Credit Card andDebit Card Systems, 38 the Senate Standing Committee on Banking, Trade andCommerce noted: “The Committee believes that financial literacy is like two sides ofa coin. On the one side, consumers bear some responsibility for understanding thefinancial products that they use. On the other side, financial service providers also38 Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce. (2009). Transparency, Balance and Choice:Canada’s Credit Card and Debit Card Systems. Retrieved from: www.firae.org/membersonly/documents/Senate-Banking-Report.pdf70TASK FORCE ON FINANCIAL LITERACY – IV. Delivery and Promotion
ear a responsibility to communicate in a clear, concise and useful manner – tothink otherwise would be, in our view, tantamount to blaming the victim, whogenerally tries to act rationally.”The Task Force believes that simple,understandable and engagingcommunication is an important toolfor consumers as they work to informthemselves about financial matters. Clearcommunication is an empowerment tooland can act as a source of motivationfor Canadians to become more activelyinvolved in their personal financial affairs,such as retirement planning, throughouttheir lives.Figure 13: Hypothetical Pamphletto Illustrate Skill Level Required toUnderstand Banking InformationClear communication is about morethan plain language. Documents shouldalso provide easy-to-understandcontent that focuses on what is trulyimportant. Design features shouldinclude a legible font size and a layoutthat is easy to follow, presenting themost important information first.The hypothetical pamphlet shownin Figure 13 was tabled with the TaskForce during its Vancouver consultationsession. It was compiled from actualbanking information collected duringvisits to several major Canadian banks.To illustrate the skill level required toSource: Literacy BC. (2010). “Presentation to TaskForce on Financial Literacy.” April 6.TASK FORCE ON FINANCIAL LITERACY – IV. Delivery and Promotion 71
Page 1 and 2:
Report of Recommendations on Financ
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Table of ContentsAcknowledgements..
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AcknowledgementsContributions of ma
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www.financialliteracyincanada.comTh
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touches all residents, our recommen
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3. Lifelong LearningWe believe that
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ensure, at the highest level, accou
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• Navigate the ever-changing fina
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Figure 1: National Average Scores,
Page 19 and 20:
Figure 3: Ratio of Household Debt t
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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: contests could also be used to fost
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
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