Minister of Finance Launches Task Force on Financial Literacy

Toronto, June 26, 2009 - The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of
Finance, today announced the establishment of Canada's Task Force on
Financial Literacy to help create a cohesive national strategy to
support initiatives across Canada aimed at improving financial
education.

"Our economy is built on millions of everyday financial decisions by
Canadians," said Minister Flaherty. "Recent events have shown us that
there are major risks and that financial literacy is an important life
skill. Whether it is a question of saving for retirement, financing a
new home or balancing the family chequebook, improving the financial
literacy of Canadians will add to the stability of our financial
system and make our economy stronger."

The task force fulfills a commitment made in Canada's Economic Action
Plan to outline objectives, including a concrete plan of action and a
framework for collaboration among stakeholders, for moving forward and
measuring progress on financial literacy in Canada. Members of the
task force are drawn from the business and education sectors,
community organizations and academia. The task force will be chaired
by Donald A. Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of Sun Life Financial
Inc. L. Jacques Ménard, Chairman of BMO Nesbitt Burns, will be the
Vice-Chair.

"I am honoured to undertake this role and I look forward to working
with such a strong and diverse task force to carry out our ambitious
mandate," said Mr. Stewart. "Valuable insights can be found
internationally and I hope to bring that perspective forward to help
Canadians make informed decisions to improve their lives."

"A great deal of fine work is going on across Canada on financial
literacy, be it in schools, in volunteer groups, through provincial
programs or through the federal Financial Consumer Agency of Canada,"
said Minister Flaherty. "This task force will develop a strategic plan
to build on this collective effort to help make all Canadians more
knowledgeable consumers, investors and savers."

Minister Flaherty said the task force complements other elements in
Canada's Economic Action Plan to strengthen consumer protection, such
as the recently announced improvements to credit card regulations,
which included improved disclosure of interest rate changes.

For more information on Canada's Economic Action Plan, visit
www.actionplan.gc.ca.

Biographical notes are attached.

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