Canadians and Their Money

We acknowledge that, to be effective, a National Strategy must also takeinto account the key elements that, although beyond a strict definition offinancial literacy, have strong implications for the ability of consumers tomake sound financial decisions. Increasing financial literacy may indeedbe only one part of the solution: some individuals may have the financialskills and knowledge, but fail to make or execute plans in their best interestbecause of psychological factors that affect decision making. In that regard,policy-makers should not underestimate the value of designing “nudging”strategies, such as default mechanisms for saving, to help empowerindividuals and households in their financial decision-making processes.Tackling financial literacy is a complex endeavour that cannot be achieved inisolation. We are convinced that the National Strategy will also benefit fromadvances in behavioural economics research, from new regulatory initiatives aimedat better protecting financial consumers (especially in relation to how informationshould best be disclosed to them), and from progress in improving the generalliteracy and numeracy skills of Canadians. Success will not be achieved overnight,and will require all those with a role to play to work over the long term and in acooperative fashion.We thank everyone who participated in our consultations. Many contributionsfrom across Canada and abroad have informed our recommendations, and weare confident that the resulting National Strategy for Financial Literacy can makea significant and positive impact on the financial security of Canadians and theeconomic prosperity of our country as a whole.86TASK FORCE ON FINANCIAL LITERACY – Conclusion: The Way Forward