Good morning. My name is Danielle Levine. I am the Executive Director of a newly formed organization, the Aboriginal Social Enterprise initiative, a grassroots national initiative that works with indigenous people and communities to develop entrepreneurs and local economies.
I would like to thank the members of the standing committee for the opportunity to present on the topic of aboriginal financial literacy and poverty reduction strategies. I hope that sharing my personal and professional experience as an educator and advocate and as an indigenous person will be helpful to you in your work to create a national strategy.
It has taken me a lifetime to get here today, and I'm so excited to be here. In terms of my background, I am Métis, and I grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba. As a child growing up in Winnipeg, it was obvious to me that there was a disproportionate number of indigenous people living in poverty and, unfortunately, as we all know, that is still the case today.
Ten years ago, I completed my Master of Business Administration degree, and the final project I did was on aboriginal financial literacy in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Since graduating with my MBA, I have taught business, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy in the indigenous community and at various post-secondary institutions.
Unfortunately, financial literacy programming is not a captivating topic in the communities we are most trying to reach. Worse yet, it is not something that anyone can fix without the individual's effort or buy-in. Escaping poverty takes work, diligence, and persistence. I would say that the theme of my career has been focused on economic reconciliation, and I believe that financial literacy is just one tool that can help lift individuals and families out of poverty.
Here is an illustration of our current challenge as Canadians. Recently I was at a meeting, and a young indigenous person was explaining to me that in her community there is about 95% unemployment. It is absolutely incomprehensible to me that we still have communities in Canada with such high unemployment. What must it be like to grow up in that community? Unfortunately, this story is not unique. When I was teaching aboriginal business education, I heard it all the time.
In communities with high unemployment, poverty alleviation is not about becoming financially literate. It is my experience that the indigenous people I know who live on income assistance are excellent budgeters. They are resilient and resourceful. They are smart. The problem is that there is just not enough money, and there are no local jobs or economy.
In the past 10 years, there has been a lot of progress in the areas of aboriginal financial literacy training and programming, including the work done by national organizations such as the Aboriginal Financial Officers Association, the Native Women's Association of Canada, financial institutions like the Vancity credit union and TD Bank, and many NGOs that are doing truly excellent work. I do believe that these programs work and do help indigenous people increase their overall financial literacy, but one thing I have learned is that there is a disconnect. People may learn concepts, but they may not have the interest or the ability to apply them in the real world.
I would now like to talk about some general considerations in financial literacy programming.
Number one, financial literacy is personal, not one size fits all. Primarily, programming that is available across Canada is group-based training and is not geared to the individual.
Number two, indigenous people are often not receptive to talking about their personal financial circumstances in a public forum.
Number three, indigenous people who are interested in financial literacy are generally motivated by the circumstances of their individual lives.
Number four, indigenous people should be involved in the development, design, and delivery of the programming that is developed for them.
Finally, my fifth point, and the most important one, is that the road to financial literacy is a long one. Becoming more financially literate will take a lifetime. One course, one program, or one degree is not enough. Becoming completely financially literate is also a non-existent state. The end goal should be financial resiliency and being able to withstand changes in the market or unexpected life events such as divorce, death, or illness. Financial literacy is about applying principles to your own life and being able to develop a financial plan that enhances the well-being of individuals and their families.
The road to financial literacy is more complex now than ever before. My own personal growth towards financial literacy and escaping poverty helped me to persevere when at times things seemed absolutely hopeless and dire. Without this knowledge and these skills and abilities, I might be another statistic.
What would be most beneficial to those individuals who do want to get out of poverty is to have access to professional planners or coaches for individual advice. A major barrier to moving out of poverty is not having good advice, especially when it is most needed. It is most unfortunate that the best financial advice that some individuals get is the advice from a bankruptcy trustee. Ideally, there would be several intervention points before bankruptcy or a consumer proposal.
I believe that the government should continue funding existing programming but should invest in some strategic investment areas, including asset development, through initiatives such as matched savings, affordable home ownership, and micro-finance. In the indigenous community in particular, you may want to consider focusing on indigenous children who are aging out of foster care, Canada's northern communities, and indigenous women.
My steps forward will be in further developing the Aboriginal Social Enterprise initiative and focusing on communities that have the highest unemployment relative to the rest of Canada.
In closing, I would like to thank you for allowing me to present to you today.