December 24, 2009

The federal government's much-ballyhooed Task Force on Financial Literacy is scheduled to release its first report in early 2010 as its 13 members gear up for a cross-country public consultation.Appointed by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty last June, the task force has the lofty goal of creating Canada's first national strategy on financial literacy.Although the tide appears to have turned on the recession, task force members say there is a pressing need for Canada to develop a potent action plan because consumers are deeper in debt than ever before.

Household debt-to-income ratio hit a record 145 per cent in September. So for every $100 of income, Canadians owe $145 in debt.Faced with job losses, clawed-back benefits and shrinking household incomes, increasing numbers are relying on credit to cover their daily living expenses. And that troubling trend has critics doubting whether the task force can inspire real change. Economic woes aside, some experts argue that financial literacy programs are ineffective and amount to little more than a political guise designed to quell calls for more government regulation of the financial sector.