Submitted by Northern Savings Credit Union--On February 9, the Federal Government's Task Force on Financial Literacy released recommendations for a national financial literacy strategy to the Minister of Finance. "Financial literacy is critical to the prosperity of Canadians and the nation," said Task Force Chair Donald A. Stewart, while another member said "Achieving real progress will require concerted and cooperative efforts among all stakeholders: from individual Canadians to governments at all levels, from a small non-profit helping new Canadians flourish to financial services providers and businesses throughout the economy. This plan builds on financial literacy work already underway by many groups and individuals."Five years ago, The Association of Service Providers for Employability & Career Training (ASPECT), a Victoria not-for-profit organization recognized that a lack of financial literacy often impacted individuals' ability to maintain employment. With funding from Vancity Credit Union and support from Social and Enterprise Development Innovations (SEDI), and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, ASPECT developed a self-directed, online financial literacy program called Your Money Matters. Designed to help all people gain basic money management skills, Your Money Matters features sequences that animate financial processes. The program covers issues such as understanding payroll deductions, filing income tax, making smart banking decisions, dealing with debt, differentiating between essential and non-essential spending and saving.Northern Savings Credit Union also recognized the importance of increasing financial literacy and approached ASPECT with a proposal to make Your Money Matters available to their members and sponsor licenses for organizations in Northern BC. Since 2008, Northern Savings has 16 sponsored licenses for high schools, libraries, First Nations and community organizations, and for the local community college. ".Having the tools to make solid financial decisions is indispensable. The Your Money Matters Program contains significant, easy to comprehend, financial advice that can be delivered where people are most comfortable. For Northern Savings Credit Union, Your Money Matters has assisted us in strengthening community partnerships and building capacity for the future." says Bill Nicholls, NSCU's Interim CEO.