L. Jacques Ménard
It’s been nearly five years since the Task Force on Financial Literacy, which I had the honour of co-chairing, delivered its final report of recommendations to improve financial literacy for all Canadians.
The message we delivered then is just as relevant now — increasing the knowledge, skills and confidence of Canadians to make responsible financial decisions is critical to the prosperity of individual Canadians and the country as a whole.
The task force emphasized four elements fundamental to Canadians achieving financial literacy:
• Knowledge — the understanding of personal and broader financial matters.
• Skills — the ability to apply that financial knowledge in everyday life.
• Confidence — the self-assurance to make important decisions.
• Responsible financial decisions — the ability of individuals to use the knowledge, skills and confidence they have gained to make choices appropriate to their own circumstances.
On all of these elements, much has been achieved since 2011. There’s also been significant progress on our call for shared responsibility among governments, educators, financial institutions and financial advisors, the business community, voluntary service agencies and individual Canadians. We can all be proud of how these disparate interests have come together to achieve such an important common goal.
At the federal level, financial literacy leader Jane Rooney has hit the ground running in her efforts to engage with public, private and non-profit stakeholders. She started her work with consultations on financial literacy for seniors — a growing population in our country, and also the source of a growing number of bankruptcies. Rooney then moved on to financial literacy for priority groups such as low income Canadians, newcomers, Aboriginal peoples and people with disabilities. These groups each have specific issues to consider regarding financial literacy, and will certainly benefit from this renewed focus.
Finally, earlier this year, she launched Count Me In, Canada, a national strategy and call to action to focus the efforts of all these stakeholders.
Among the provinces, unprecedented discussions are taking place among those who have responsibility for school curricula, discussions that will help ensure the focus on financial literacy takes place in classrooms across Canada. A recent BMO poll on financial literacy revealed that 81 per cent of British Columbians are comfortable discussing finances with children, the highest out of any other province.
For those of us in the private sector — in particular, the financial services industry — the need to play a leading role in ensuring high levels of financial literacy among Canadians remains clear. Those of us who work at BMO — indeed all those in the financial services — strive to help Canadians gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to make responsible financial decisions at all stages of their lives.
We’ve made particular strides with young people, who face financial decisions and responsibilities much earlier in their lives than earlier generations, with the accompanying potential risks and pitfalls. With a recent BMO survey finding that 37 per cent of Canadian parents are not certain whether their children have a firm grasp on the basics of money management, Canadian youth represent an important focus for our financial literacy efforts.
BMO is working together with different stakeholders to achieve the goal of stronger financial literacy in Canada. This is why BMO supports, in concert with the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education non-profit organization, the annual Talk With Our Kids About Money Day. Every April, we encourage parents and teachers to have “the talk” with youth — a discussion on understanding money matters.
The effort is reinforced in our public schools, where the school boards and teachers who shepherd our children can draw on the various tailored communication vehicles developed for this special day.
Taken together, all these efforts in support of financial literacy represent an impressive effort. But we know that the task is not complete. Rooney has said that there is no magic bullet that will lead to a more financially literate population or produce a financially literate individual. We need to recognize that financial literacy is an essential life skill that needs lifelong learning and practice, for all of us.
We need to make sure that these efforts reach us at home, in class, at work, in the community and at key life moments.
Until we can be sure that all Canadians are knowledgeable, skilled, confident and responsible, the efforts of stakeholders from all parts of Canada must continue to provide financial literacy education.
L. Jacques Ménard, chairman of BMO Nesbitt Burns and president of BMO Financial Group Quebec, served as vice-chairman for the Canadian Task Force on Financial Literacy.
