OSC announces education and outreach activities to advance financial literacy during COVID-19

For Immediate Release OSC

TORONTO - The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) today announced its plans for Financial Literacy Month in November to improve Canadians’ financial knowledge, skills, confidence and behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Many Canadians are feeling the financial impact of the pandemic,” said Tyler Fleming, Director of the Investor Office at the OSC. “While only one piece of the puzzle, improving financial literacy can help people better personally navigate the economic turbulence and recovery.”

The OSC will be leading several investor education and outreach initiatives in November:

COVID-19 information for newcomers – The OSC’s multilingual website for investors, InvestingIntroduction.ca, now includes information on COVID-19 and investing for newcomers and new Canadians, in addition to tips for avoiding financial fraud during the pandemic. It is available in 22 languages.  A new informational handout is also available for free to community organizations.

Relaunched investor Q&A website – The OSC’s investor Q&A website, previously called Re: Investing, has relaunched as InvestingQuestions.ca with a new, modern design to help investors easily find clear, unbiased answers to their investing questions.

New financial tools and calculators – Ontarians can better plan their and their family’s finances with three new resources now available on GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca: the Cash Flow Calculator, the Investor Readiness Quiz and a new interactive How Income Tax Works article. Additional innovative tools and resources will be published throughout the month of November.

Webinar for Canadian Armed Forces Members, Veterans and Seniors (Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at 3:00 p.m.) – The OSC will host an open webinar highlighting resources for Canadian Armed Forces members and veterans, seniors and the public on staying safe from investment fraud and making informed financial decisions. Registration is open.

Financial Elder Abuse Prevention Webinar (Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 1:00 p.m.) – Staff from the OSC and Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario (EAPON) will deliver a webinar for older Ontarians, caregivers and adult children on recognizing the signs of financial elder abuse and accessing helpline and emergency resources.

Province-wide Investor Telephone Townhall (Thursday, November 19, 2020 at 6:30 p.m.) – Ontarians are invited to virtually join a townhall on Monday, October 19, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. for a discussion on fraud prevention. Participants will hear from OSC staff and have an opportunity to ask questions. The event will be streamed online and available by phone. Visit the OSC’s website to register for the upcoming telephone townhall. 

Twitter chat (Wednesday, November 18, 2020 at 1:00 p.m.) – The OSC will host a Twitter Chat to share tips on improving financial well-being and staying safe from financial fraud. The Chat will include special guests from law enforcement, community organizations and regulatory partners. Follow the OSC’s investor education Twitter handle, @smarter_money, for the latest information. Participants will use the hashtag #FLM2020.

The OSC is hosting many other events as part of Financial Literacy Month. Find out more and sign up to attend by visiting the OSC in the Community events page.

 

Follow /GetSmarterAboutMoney on Facebook or @smarter_money on Twitter for more investing tips and information.

The mandate of the OSC is to provide protection to investors from unfair, improper or fraudulent practices, to foster fair and efficient capital markets and confidence in the capital markets, and to contribute to the stability of the financial system and the reduction of systemic risk.  Investors are urged to check the registration of any persons or company offering an investment opportunity and to review the OSC investor materials available at http://www.osc.gov.on.ca.

 

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