The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) is ramping up efforts to educate high school students on financial literacy, focusing on essential topics such as budgeting, credit management, and distinguishing between needs and wants. Blacklock's Reporter says this expansion comes amid concerns that many parents are not adequately teaching their children about basic financial skills.The agency announced that it will allocate $80,000 annually to ChatterHigh Communications, a Victoria, B.C.-based consultant, to implement programs aimed at improving the financial knowledge and confidence of students from Grade 6 to 12. These programs include a daily online quiz designed to engage students in topics such as managing money, credit and debit cards, saving, and preparing for post-secondary education.“Topics covered in these interventions include the difference between needs and wants, credit and debit cards, saving and budgeting, getting a first job and funding for postsecondary school,” the FCAC stated in its notice Increasing Youth Financial Confidence. The agency highlighted that these initiatives have already shown significant improvements in financial confidence and behavioral intentions among participating youth.One of the courses offered, titled Managing My Money After High School, provides teenagers with practical tips on saving and managing finances as they transition into adulthood.The push for better financial education in schools is partly in response to findings that parents are not always the primary source of financial literacy for their children. Ursula Menke, the FCAC’s former Commissioner, testified before the Senate banking committee in 2013, emphasizing the need for educational programs due to a gap in financial literacy at home.“Parents are the first place where children should be learning something about financial literacy, and that does not always happen,” Menke stated. “There will always be a need to educate.”Despite these concerns, research conducted by the FCAC found that many teenagers already possess a basic understanding of household finance. According to a 2017 agency questionnaire, a third of students reported saving regularly, and 78% owned bank accounts.“As youth near the end of their compulsory education, it is important that they have financial literacy to guide their everyday choices and make life decisions,” the agency noted in its survey report Measuring Up.This educational initiative follows the 2013 passage of Bill C-28, An Act To Amend The Financial Consumer Agency Of Canada, which led to the appointment of a national officer to coordinate financial literacy programs. However, not everyone is convinced that education alone is sufficient. The Consumers’ Association of Canada criticized the bill as a weak substitute for robust regulation of predatory credit practices.“Sixty-seven percent of Canadians pay off their credit cards every month,” said Bruce Cran, president of the association, in an earlier interview. “I don’t think there is any evidence Canadians cannot handle their own finances.”Cran expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of such programs, calling them “fashionable” and noting the lack of strong regulation on credit practices. “It has been years since we even had a voice in cabinet,” he said, referencing the 1995 decision to disband the Department of Consumer Affairs as part of government austerity measures.
