Resources
Handouts, video and time stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Time stamps for the video:
Welcome and introductions
2:52 – Goals for webinar
4:39 – Context: Benefits Wayfinder and Disability Benefits Navigator
10:46 – Intro to the Bridge to Benefits tool
19:31 – Development process
24:10 – Demo – Walkthrough of the features
40:17 – Evaluation
44:12 – How to share this tool with others/Other resources
49:12 – Questions and feedback
Resources
Reports, presentation slides and video time stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Download the executive summary.
Time stamps for the video:
0.38 – Welcome and housekeeping
5:59 – Canada’s financial help gap overview
35:35 – Panel discussion
1:20 – Q&A
Economic abuse screening tool (a toolkit for social service providers)
Women’s shelters are often the first point of contact for victim-survivors fleeing abusive relationships. Therefore, safety and shelter are logically at the forefront of staff members’ immediate concerns. Once the victim-survivor is in a place of safety, it is crucial to explore the patterns of abuse the person has experienced. Economic security is an often overlooked pattern of abuse linked to physical safety. It is, therefore, crucial and the goal of this screening tool for shelter workers to identify potential Economic and Financial Abuse amongst their clients and to assist victim-survivors in accessing essential economic resources. Watch the webinar: Recognizing and responding to economic abuse; empowering survivors to thrive and succeed.
Research to help FSRA improve the lives of vulnerable consumers
Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario commissioned a research study that focused on consumer attitudes, how consumers are engaging with financial services, and consumer characteristics such as vulnerability. Insights from the research are allowing FSRA to better understand the realities of consumers’ changing financial lives and helping to identify key opportunities to respond to the needs of vulnerable consumers. 2022 Consumer Research Study highlights. 2022 Consumer Research Study full report
Insights into the risks and benefits of digital financial services for consumers
One of the consequences of social distancing and other restrictions, during the pandemic, such as those on business operating hours, is that consumers spent more of their time searching for information, shopping, and streaming entertainment on-line. With more free time on their hands and money in the bank, a larger percentage of the population took up an interest in investing, often through on-line brokerage platforms or in the cryptoasset markets. Because consumers have been spending more time on-line since the start of the pandemic, they have been more exposed to on-line fraud. In addition to phishing and malware, consumers are dealing with known scams but in digital form, often on social media. For some consumers, the evergrowing number of reliable and accessible information sources could lead to information overload, also known as “infobesity, where there is so much information that the consumer cannot process it all. Infobesity can lead to decision paralysis. In this paper the AMF make the most of their 360-degree view on the financial industry’s digital transformation to review the main changes that occurred in each of their areas of focus, describe the risk of digitalization for the consumers of financial products and services and present the potential opportunities that have been identified to mitigate these risks.
Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing
The Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing (CISP) is a new national hub to link people and share practices that connect people to community-based supports and services that can help improve their health and wellbeing.
Eyeing the ID: Bio-metric Banking for Saint John
NB Social Pediatrics and the Saint John Community Loan Fund recently surveyed 157 New Brunswick and Nova Scotia residents about their experiences with finances, banking, and ID to better understand if biometrics or ID banks could be effective solutions for people living without ID. Eyeing the ID: Bio-metric Banking for Saint John identifies access to identification, as well as stringent identification requirements as the most prevalent barriers to receiving services in the community and were also inherently linked to other barriers, such as housing and finances. For example, lack of address was identified as a barrier to accessing an ID because government agencies require a mailing address to send ID documents to customers, but lack of ID is also directly linked to precarious housing because you often need ID to be placed on local subsidized housing lists, and to set up power and utilities. Cyclical barriers to services could be improved by addressing ID requirements and making ID more accessible. The top three solutions identified to mitigate ID barriers were biometrics, ID banks, and an ID acquisition service. Also available in French: Un regard sur l’identification : Services bancaires à identification biométrique à Saint John
Countervailing Power: Review of the coordination and funding for financial counselling services across Australia
In 2019, the Australian Government committed to additional actions to improve the financial outcomes of Australians, including undertaking an immediate review of the coordination and funding of financial counselling services that disadvantaged Australians rely on. The review noted the benefits of financial counselling to the community, including early intervention and prevention of further financial hardship, advocacy support, and referral to other services for complex issues. The review also highlighted the challenges faced by the financial counselling sector, including increasing demand, fragmented delivery, and the array of complex situations and financial products that can lead to financial hardship. The review:
Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Montreal “Cultural Communities”
This exploratory study aims to better understand the challenges experienced by members of cultural communities in Montreal, particularly the most disadvantaged groups, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Spring of 2020.
Unconnected: Funding Shortfalls, Policy Imbalances and How They Are Contributing to Canada’s Digital Underdevelopment
In an effort to understand the challenges and opportunities facing civil society and community organizations working to improve the quality of Canada’s internet, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) commissioned research firm The Strategic Counsel to conduct a qualitative and quantitative assessment of stakeholder perceptions of the nation’s digital philanthropy landscape.
The research results show that digital development in Canada is underfunded, piecemeal, ad hoc and unorganized despite stakeholders sharing many of the same goals. The research results show that digital development in Canada is underfunded, piecemeal, ad hoc and unorganized despite stakeholders sharing many of the same goals – the connecting of Canadians to the internet in an affordable and reliable manner so that they can comfortably and knowledgeably participate in an increasingly digital economy and society. The research also found that these goals and the challenges surrounding them have only become more pressing with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a global crisis that has pushed nearly every aspect of our daily lives online.
Barriers to Digital Equality in Canada
Internet is an essential service. As technology increasingly shapes our world, it is important that Canadians can keep up with the rapid changes, latest skills and emerging industries. Unfortunately, not every resident of Canada is able to access these opportunities to unlock a potentially brighter future. AIC and ACORN partnered to undertake research with low and moderate income Canadians, in order to uncover the barriers to digital equity that exist in Canada today and shine a light on the urgent need to tackle these barriers to ensure equal access to digital opportunities.
Disability Inclusion Analysis of Lessons Learned and Best Practices of the Government of Canada’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
This report provides the findings of research conducted to assist Employment and Social Development Canada in identifying good or best practices and lessons learned from the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Conducted in partnership with the DisAbled Women’s Network of Canada (DAWN), this research helps us better understand how diverse people with disabilities in Canada have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of government COVID-19 measures on diverse people with disabilities in Canada.
Overcoming Digital Divides Workshop Series: Framing Paper
Canada’s digital divide has often been narrowly defined as the gap that exists between urban and rural broadband internet availability — Canadian urban centres have significantly greater internet subscription levels at faster speeds than rural communities.(Government of Canada, 2019). The cost of building new internet infrastructure in less developed areas continues to impede equitable access to sufficient internet services. This series aims to engage people living in Canada, industry, academia and policymakers to advance a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the circumstances that precipitate the conditions that shape digital inequities in Canada. Through expert panel discussions and thoughtful participatory dialogue, the series aims to drive toward innovative solutions to greater digital inclusion across Canada. The series will be presented in six parts, each tackling a specific theme with unique concerns. The series will also build on intersectional connections across themes while identifying new issues and impacted communities.