News

The federal government created a social and financial innovation called the Canada Learning Bond (CLB) in 2004 to provide low-income families with a substantial contribution and ongoing incentives to save for their children’s post-secondary education. The CLB program provides up to $2,000 per child over a 15-year period. The challenge is that enrollment is relativel...

ABC Life Literacy Canada launched the Money Matters for Indigenous Peoples program nationally in 2017, following a successful pilot program in Ontario in 2016. Since then, Money Matters for Indigenous Peoples has reached 1,976 learners through 141 workshops.   Money Matters is a free introductory financial literacy program for adult learners. The program’s pri...

Last month The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) launched a new automated telephone filing service called File my Return to make it easier for Canadians to file their income tax and benefit returns. File my Return allows eligible Canadians to file their income tax and benefit returns by answering a series of short questions and providing some personal information. This service ...

To reprise Tina Turner’s classic song, when it comes to poverty reduction, policy makers may well ask – What’s financial empowerment got to do with it?    The answer is – everything. It has everything to do with it.   Household finances fall along a spectrum from deep vulnerability at one end to financial well-being at the ot...

Over 20,000 Ontarians have received financial empowerment services and accessed $55 million in income tax refunds and other income benefits thanks to the Financial Empowerment and Problem Solving (FEPS) Program, according to a new report from Prosper Canada. In 2015 the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) provided funding for Prosper Canada to replica...

Imagine being kicked out of your home and left on your own at the age of 18. You have no support system to help you navigate the ‘adult’ world. No income, no bank account, no way to pay for shelter and food, no means of transportation. You are alone.   According to the Ontario Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth, approximately 17,...

This September, the ABLE Financial Empowerment Network Steering Committee submitted a brief to the Federal Financial Sector Review. The brief includes the Committee’s recommendations for the federal government to strengthen the financial consumer protection regime, expand financial inclusion, and shed light on the financial challenges of Canadians.   &nb...

ABC Life Literacy Canada has delivered free, accessible financial literacy workshops to communities across Canada since 2011 with its Money Matters program. To date, over 10,000 learners have taken part in a workshop. To celebrate this milestone and to reach more learners during November’s Financial Literacy Month, ABC launched Money Matters Online this month, ...

Higher education is a valuable opportunity for all Canadians. Not only can it increase income earning potential for many who pursue it, but post-secondary education can also be a route out of poverty for many people living on low incomes. However, the reality is that only 30 per cent of students from the lowest income quintile end up attending post-secondary education. Ev...

September 22, 2017, Vancouver – Plan Institute and Prosper Canada today launched the online Future Planning Tool to help persons with disabilities and those who support them to plan for the future. The Future Planning Tool is intended to promote long-term well-being for Canadians with disabilities by helping them and their families to accomplish their future plann...