Ten members of the Task Force held a second day of public consultations in a sunny and bright Ottawa Thursday, all – even representatives from the west and Toronto – invigorated by the triumph of Les Canadiens the night before.
The improving disclosure practices of the investment business were addressed by Charles Sims, Mackenzie Financial CEO, who said an industry working group is developing “a two page disclosure in simple, plain language (that addresses) how the risk profile should fit into (investors’) thought processes.”
Presenter Margot MacPherson Brewer advocated that “women’s experiences should be integrated into the Task Force’s recommendations.” She said “all women need to take responsibility for their own financial independence,” and need knowledge and support to do so.
Entraide budgétaire Ottawa (http://www.ebottawa.org/) – which provides counseling to middle and low income earners – echoed this theme, Hélène Ménard noting that, “we encourage people to come in as a couple; very few do…the burden for budget management in the family is often on the woman.”
Option Consommateurs (http://www.option-consommateurs.org ), a non-profit association that promotes consumer rights, made 15 thought-provoking recommendations, including establishing a national financial literacy coordination office with its website offering plain language tools for consumers.
Additional important social context was provided by Ken Georgetti, Canadian Labour Congress President, who expressed disappointment in “the stagnation of wages” experienced by most Canadians. “Canadians are not saving as much because they can’t afford to save,” he said. Mr. Georgetti also criticized the heavy advertising by financial institutions, saying it persuades people that, “you have to give your money to somebody else (to manage) because you’re not smart enough to do it yourself.”
After Wednesday’s public sessions, the Task Force had an opportunity to provide an informal update to the Minister of Finance, to whom we report, on some of the broader themes emerging across Canada. A more comprehensive report on our consultations will be provided to the Minister this summer. Minister Flaherty reiterated to us the importance of our work in strengthening the national fabric.
The Task Force will conclude its public, in-person consultations when two of its members convene in Iqaluit on May 27.
Don Stewart
Chair of the Task Force on Financial Literacy
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
TASK FORCE CHAIR'S BLOG: May 12, 2010
The Task Force is in Ottawa Wednesday and Thursday this week holding in-person consultation sessions. While time does not permit us to accommodate all of those who wished to appear, we will end up hearing from about 170 groups and individuals through the public sessions.
Pat Kerwin, of the Congress of Union Retirees of Canada (http://unionretiree.ca/ ), kicked off the day with two thought-provoking recommendations: that financial literacy education has to start early and be mandatory, as children are focused on “instant communications and instant gratification”; and that mandatory changes be made to CPP so that it pays retirees 50% of the average wage.
Building on the unique needs of illiterate people – on which several previous presenters have focused – the Movement for Canadian Literacy’s Lindsay Kennedy recommended that “financial institutions be required to provide all information in…plain language and clear writing.” (http://www.literacy.ca/ )
The Task Force was reminded of the wide variety of ways that financial literacy can be delivered by Angelo Pace of FUNancial Education, which runs Camp Ka-Ching, a summer day program for children ages eight to twelve (http://www.funancialeducation.com/ ).
Ottawa financial adviser Marc Lamontagne described the valuable information that advisers can help people traverse savings, wealth management and retirement; and urged that the fees paid to advisers be made tax-deductible. Under questioning, he allowed that there is little or no difference in the quality provided by fee-based and commission-based advisers.
The Task Force has been inundated with fascinating statistics from many presenters. One example came Wednesday from the Certified General Accountants Association, whose Carole Presseault said, “if household debt was to be evenly spread across all Canadians, each individual would have held $41,740 in debt last year.”
Don Stewart
Chair of the Task Force on Financial Literacy
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
TASK FORCE CHAIR'S BLOG: May 11, 2010
The Task Force resumed its public consultations in Toronto Tuesday, prior to heading to Ottawa for sessions on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Youth Challenge Fund (http://youthchallengefund.org/), which works to improve opportunities for Toronto's young people in the city’s 13 priority neighbourhoods, was represented by Pamela Grant. She observed that youth have a lack of opportunities to enhance their financial literacy; their needs vary widely and a single approach won’t work; and that education needs to be integrated into existing youth programs.
Similar thoughts were expressed by Fazal Khan of SkyRocketKids Foundation (http://skyrocketkids.org/), who observed that, “many children view money as a piece of plastic in mom or dad’s wallet that gets them stuff.” SkyRocketKids’ MoneyBox teaches children financial literacy and the distinctions among save, spend, give and grow.
Questions arising from prior submissions – that suggested that credit cards are too easy to obtain and that high interest rate cards are being aggressively marketed by some schools – were posed to Visa Canada’s Tim Wilson. He agreed that “consumers need to be educated before receiving credit cards,” and described Visa’s Choices & Decisions financial literacy program, now taught in more than 5,000 secondary schools.
The Financial Planning Standard Council’s Cary List, in a thought-provoking presentation, told the Task Force that, “managing money is a life skill as important as language, reading and arithmetic.”
Robin Walsh of the Canadian Bankers Association recommended the establishment of a single web portal on financial literacy for all financial institutions and organizations, hosted at the website of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/).
19 groups and individuals appeared Tuesday and over 200 submissions have been received to date; clearly, interest in the Task Force’s work is growing as our work progresses.
Don Stewart
Chair of the Task Force on Financial Literacy
The Youth Challenge Fund (http://youthchallengefund.org/), which works to improve opportunities for Toronto's young people in the city’s 13 priority neighbourhoods, was represented by Pamela Grant. She observed that youth have a lack of opportunities to enhance their financial literacy; their needs vary widely and a single approach won’t work; and that education needs to be integrated into existing youth programs.
Similar thoughts were expressed by Fazal Khan of SkyRocketKids Foundation (http://skyrocketkids.org/), who observed that, “many children view money as a piece of plastic in mom or dad’s wallet that gets them stuff.” SkyRocketKids’ MoneyBox teaches children financial literacy and the distinctions among save, spend, give and grow.
Questions arising from prior submissions – that suggested that credit cards are too easy to obtain and that high interest rate cards are being aggressively marketed by some schools – were posed to Visa Canada’s Tim Wilson. He agreed that “consumers need to be educated before receiving credit cards,” and described Visa’s Choices & Decisions financial literacy program, now taught in more than 5,000 secondary schools.
The Financial Planning Standard Council’s Cary List, in a thought-provoking presentation, told the Task Force that, “managing money is a life skill as important as language, reading and arithmetic.”
Robin Walsh of the Canadian Bankers Association recommended the establishment of a single web portal on financial literacy for all financial institutions and organizations, hosted at the website of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/).
19 groups and individuals appeared Tuesday and over 200 submissions have been received to date; clearly, interest in the Task Force’s work is growing as our work progresses.
Don Stewart
Chair of the Task Force on Financial Literacy
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