Appearance before the Standing Committee on Finance (July 7, 2020): Collaborating to understand consumer needs

Issue

Vulnerable Canadians including low income earners, seniors and Indigenous Peoples were among the first to be impacted financially by COVID-19.
Many face language, literacy, digital and numeracy barriers and are unable to navigate important financial relief measures.
FCAC stakeholders work directly with client groups. They were amongst the first to hear about the impact of COVID-19, the issues and challenges faced by Canadians.
From the outset of the pandemic, FCAC engaged with its stakeholders to better understand the issues and impact on communities and Canadians, to learn about effective best practices, and to work collaboratively on finding solutions.

Responding to the pandemic, FCAC pivoted swiftly and engaged its broad sector base to gain insights and perspectives on the impact of the pandemic. Taking pulse of the issues and informing the FCAC cross-functional policy team.
FCAC’s network of cross-sectoral stakeholders, connects numerous organizations, significantly extending the reach of the Financial Literacy Program and contributes to strengthening the financial literacy of Canadians through collective impact.
FCAC coordinates its efforts with its stakeholders, including the 18 Financial Literacy Network (Approx. 600 organizations.), undertakes research, shares insights on consumer protection issues, disseminates consumer educational resources, and tools.
FCAC heard insights from over 80 stakeholders, new partnerships were formed, and 120 resources were shared to help Canadians address the impact on their personal finances.

What we heard from stakeholders’ impact of the pandemic:

Reduced access to bank branches; reduced branch hours; no in branch services; Canadians without bank accounts unable to cash Government of Canada cheques.
Digital literacy barriers; no access to internet services; inability to reach telephone banking due to volume of calls; unable to access, understand or apply for Banks and Government of Canada measures.
Unclear messages around relief measures, such as mortgage deferrals, impact on personal finances, credit bureau/scores. No centralized and coordinated portal or website for all COVID-19 information.
Community organizations had to halt important services to members of their communities, especially the most vulnerable.

FCAC responded to the pandemic by engaging its broad network of stakeholders to get a pulse on the pandemic’s impact on household finances.
FCAC continues its commitment to collaborating with organizations across the country on identifying and implementing solutions that respond to the needs of Canadians, including the most vulnerable.
Through collaboration, FCAC gains key information on the needs of consumers and the challenges faced by communities during this crisis. This helps inform our interventions and development of educational resources. FCAC also shares relevant tools and information with those networks, that they can use with their clients.