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'Canadians need real measures, such as pension reform, to improve their economic well-being' - James Clancy.
Ottawa (12 May 2010) - The Harper government is missing the point by encouraging Canadians to raise their financial literacy rather than taking real action to improve the economic well-being of citizens, says the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE).
"Rather than forcing Canadians to decipher the myriad of financial products on the market, it would make far more sense to invest in the country’s pension system which has already proved its worth," NUPGE national president James Clancy says in a submission to the federal task force on financial literacy.
"This system provides the most cost effective administration for a plan of its scale. With its national scope, the public benefits from highly skilled investment staff, focused on a singular plan, to ensure a well diversified portfolio," he argues.
"It provides for a transparent system of savings and investment which allows Canadians to plan for their senior years. Providing improvements to this well-established program will allow Canadians to invest in a less risky financial option and save more securely."
Clancy says the scope of the task force – announced last year by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and scheduled to report by the end of this year – is so narrow it "could potentially ignore" the real issues influencing the ability of Canadians to engage in the country's financial system.
The task force is chaired by Donald Stewart, chief executive of Sun Life Financial Corp.
"It is not necessarily financial illiteracy that stands in the way of saving more or investing more wisely," Clancy argues.
"It is deciding between spending those dollars on rent or groceries or prescription drugs that stands in the way. Canadians need to start believing that the organizations, companies and institutions out there taking their money are serving their best interest," he adds.
"As a country, we need a strategy to invest in the creation of long-term jobs with adequate salaries and benefits to help families get to the place where saving money is an option. We need a strategy where the public no longer sees a government looking out for the best interests of profit-focused corporations rather than its own citizens. We need action to provide concrete solutions to encourage Canadians to build their future rather than be lectured about why they are not doing it faster, better and smarter."
The task force deadline for public consultation is May 13.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
More information:
• NUPGE submission to the Task Force on Financial Literacy
• Make a submission to the Task Force on Financial Literacy