National Financial Literacy strategy update

by: Laurie Swinton, Chair CLHIA's Committee on Financial Literacy
Empire Life

In June, National Financial Literacy Leader Jane Rooney gave an update to the CLHIA Committee on Financial Literacy on the work being done at the national level to help Canadians develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to make responsible financial decisions.

The three initial areas of focus for the National Strategy were managing money and debt wisely, planning and saving for the future, and fraud and financial abuse. Now in year three of its five-year mandate, the focus areas have shifted to:

· Budgeting
· Emergency savings
· Helping people understand their rights and responsibilities as consumers

Another area of focus is workplace financial literacy—expect to hear more in the next year on this front. Using new interactive digital tools to engage with consumers like the Carrots Rewards App (see separate story), better targeting financial literacy programs to specific groups, such as seniors and indigenous peoples and measuring the effectiveness of programs are all integral to the national strategy.

Here are some exciting new developments on the national front to watch for:

· Starting this September, high school students in Quebec will need to take a mandatory financial literacy course in their final year; Ontario is piloting a similar program this year with the course becoming mandatory starting in 2018
· The FCAC has published a National Research Plan for Financial Literacy, 2016-2018. You can read about all the research projects organizations are undertaking to understand better how we can help Canadians feel confident about their financial choices