Human Resources Committee on Nov. 15th, 2016

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Thanks, Chair.

Mr. Ryan, it is Financial Literacy Month. Obviously, we want to increase knowledge, skills, and confidence in people so they can make proper financial decisions. In priority neighbourhoods—and I spend a lot of time in them—I talk to people who are living day to day, trying to make rent and to eat. I ask, “Have you done research? Have you had access to credits and benefits? Do you keep accurate records?” They look at me with their hands up, saying, “Are you kidding me? I'm trying to live day to day here.”

I think there's a disconnect between the Count me in, Canada program, which I think is a great program, and those living in poverty.

I'd like your comments on how we can bridge that gap to get those services to the people who need them the most.

[Jérémie Ryan]

You're right. We've seen through our consultations with Canadians that a lot of low-income Canadians are better when it comes to financial literacy, because they have only so much money to manage.

I think it is important to be able to build those skills and that knowledge from a very early age. When Canadians have those skills when they start earning income, and when they're accessing government benefits, they have a certain amount of money that they need to manage. If they're provided those skills, they're better able to manage their money and debt wisely.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

I'm going to jump in really quickly, because time is of the essence here. There is a disconnect, and we need to do better on that. A young man, 23 years old, whose name is Prakash Amarasooriya, with an Ontario youth council, is coming up with a petition to bring financial literacy skills into the school system.

I'm a strong proponent of early learning and how important that is to pull people out of poverty. We have to stop coming up with band-aids and start coming up with real solutions. I believe that getting financial literacy into the schools at an early age is key. Can you comment on that, please, and on how important that is for us to implement?

[Jérémie Ryan]

Absolutely, yes. Our mandate was expanded in 2007 in order to develop a financial literacy curriculum for the schools across Canada. At the time, B.C. was the only province that had a mandatory financial education program, which was called “Planning 10”. We partnered with the Province of British Columbia to develop an educational program that is adapted to all provinces, in both French and English, and we've been promoting that throughout the years.

We can say that financial literacy is still at the beginning of being integrated in curricula. In Ontario, they're taking a cross-curricular approach in getting topics and subjects into existing curricula. Most recently, you might have seen that Quebec has made financial education mandatory in high schools as well.

It's still early days. There's still a lot to be done. I agree with you that we need to start early. We need to start shaping behaviour at an early age when it comes to managing money.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bryan May]

Thank you very much.

Thank you to everybody for coming today. This has been very educational. I really do appreciate all of the technical expertise that you have provided today.

There were a number of things that you were asked to provide this committee. If there is any need for clarification, please let us know. Ask the clerk, and we'll make sure that we get the information that was requested.

Thank you very much.

[Proceedings continue in camera]