Federal government to help more Canadians tax file and access their benefits

The Canada Social Report

The Caledon Institute of Social Policy launched the Canada Social Report initiative in June 2015. It is intended to act as a national hub of social policy information.

FEPS program is expanding to Kitchener and Ottawa

The Financial Empowerment and Problem Solving (FEPS) Program will expand to two new partner sites, The Working Centre located in Kitchener and EBO Financial Education Centre located in Ottawa. This expansion will help broaden the programs reach and meet the needs of low income Canadians across the province.

PM addresses poverty in ministry mandate letters

On November 13, 2015, the new Liberal federal government mandate letters were released and for the first time ever, publicly communicated to the Canadian public. Through the letters, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assigned each of his newly-appointed Cabinet Ministers with specific priorities and key goals for their respective portfolios over the next four years.

ABLE Financial Empowerment Conference videos now available

The 2015 ABLE Financial Empowerment Conference was a great learning and networking opportunity for many of our stakeholders who joined us in Toronto for two days this past November. We are pleased to advise that full conference videos are now available for viewing for all plenary sessions.

Promising approaches to expanding tax filing for people on low incomes

Now that the holiday season is behind us it’s time to turn our attention to something a little less festive – tax season. While filing taxes may not be on your list of favourite things to do, for Canadians living on low incomes, tax time is an important opportunity to boost their income by accessing a wide range of government benefits.

Investing in youth pays off

Momentum recently evaluated the impact of its Youth Fair Gains (YFG) program and found that investing in youth absolutely pays off. YFG is a matched-savings program for youth ages 16-21 that helps youth build up to $2,250 in savings which can be used to purchase tools for work, training or education, or to start a business. Learn more about this program’s impact and opportunities for improvement.

Online tools help newcomers meet financial goals

Canada has become home to approximately 6.8 million immigrants and a total population that includes over 200 ethnic origins! Thanks to funding provided by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), Prosper Canada has developed the online Money Management Tool for Newcomers to help new Canadians learn about our increasingly complex financial system.

Resources

The following resources may assist you in your work: *Accessing income-boosting benefits through tax filing *ABLE Conference ‘Accessing income boosting benefits and tax credits’ presentations *Volunteer Tax Preparation Clinic locations *CPA Ontario Tax Preparation Assistance *What It’s Worth: Strengthening the Financial Future of Families, Communities and the Nation, CFED

Poll

What percentage of Canadian tax filers prepare their returns themselves?

Upcoming Events

February 16-18, 2016

The AFOA Canada 16th National Conference will focus on the importance of strong leadership and governance.

February 29, 2016 and March 1, 2016

Do you work with Newcomers to Canada? Would you like to offer them financial literacy education? Please join us for a Financial Literacy Facilitator Training Workshop!

April 5-7, 2016

This conference will bring together mayors, provincial and territorial representatives, poverty reduction roundtable members, and interested individuals across the country.

April 13-15, 2016

This conference promotes the effective delivery of consumer financial products, services and education by hosting a national event for professionals providing these services.

April 20, 2016

This summit brings together senior international financial literacy experts from governments, the financial services industry, NGOs, the news media and academia.

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February 2016 | Issue No. 16
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