Federal Task Force on Financial Literacy Recognizes Elder Abuse
March 2, 2011
BY Alison Taylor
The Task Force on Financial Literacy, appointed by the Government of Canada in June 2009, published its Final Report this morning. Entitled, Canadians and their Money: Building a Brighter Financial Future, this report builds on consultations with over 170 organizations and over 300 submissions, and makes 30 recommendations aimed at enhancing financial literacy of Canadians.
The Report recognizes that older adults are especially vulnerable to financial fraud, citing the submission of the Canadian Centre for Elder Law to the Task Force, and notes the likely increasing prevalence of financial abuse of older adults given the rapid aging of Canada’s population. Echoing a recommendation of the submission of the Canadian Centre for Elder Law, Recommendation 20 of the Task Force calls for the strengthening of existing federal government programs that promote fraud awareness and prevention, highlighting in particular the Federal Elder Abuse Initiative.
“Financial abuse of older adults is currently one of the most commonly reported forms of elder abuse,” states Krista James, the National Director of the Canadian Centre for Elder Law. “Older adults can be especially vulnerable to financial abuse due to social isolation, assumptions about the trusting nature of older adults, and access to assets accumulated through lifelong saving. At the same time, advanced age means the effects of financial abuse can be especially catastrophic for older adults. We applaud the Task Force’s recognition of this urgent issue and look forward to the federal government’s response.”
The full report of the Task Force on Financial Literacy is available on their website at, https://www.financialliteracyincanada.com/.
The full submission of the Canadian Centre for Elder Law to the Task Force can downloaded from the CCEL website.
The Canadian Centre for Elder Law strives to be a leader in law reform by carrying out the best in scholarly law reform research and writing and the best in outreach relating to law reform as they relate to older adults.
Contact: Krista James
National Director
Canadian Centre for Elder Law
(604) 822-0142
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