There is not much that people agree on when it comes to securities and other financial services regulation.

But one subject that provokes universal agreement is the need to improve significantly the enforcement of the existing laws affecting securities and the provision of other financial services that would operate on an integrated basis and apply throughout Canada.

The structural changes needed to bring this about have been well articulated in many reports and papers. What’s missing is the co-operative political will at the federal and provincial levels to implement the recommendations.

The continuing failure to act in the face of repeated crises of confidence in the capital markets threatens the stability of our financial system and brings into question the credibility of both our regulatory system and our federal/provincial system of government. The time for government leaders to marshal the political will to implement structural changes is long overdue.

Right now, as evidenced by many of the submissions to the Expert Panel on Securities Regulation, attention is focused on improving enforcement. This is good, despite the concern that this is too narrow a focus. While focusing only on the enforcement structure is a little like the tail wagging the dog, one has to start somewhere.

But we should not lose sight of the fact that along with building a credible enforcement system is the need to work on ways to prevent the problems that give rise to enforcement actions in the first place — or, at least, the need to work on ways to minimize the number and type of such problems.

To this end, all Cana-dians would benefit from a comprehensive program rolled out throughout Canada designed to improve their knowledge and awareness of financial and economic matters or, in other words, to improve their “financial capability.” Improving the financial capability of citizens is a strategic priority for many countries. It needs to become one for Canada.

In this respect, Canada would do well to follow the lead of Britain, which has done substantial work in this area. The aim of the joint initiative of the HM Treasury and the Financial Services Authority is to enable consumers to make sound money choices, to know what questions to ask of their financial services providers, to have the confidence to do so and to know where to go if things go wrong. Programs are being rolled out in schools, workplaces and communities to teach consumers how to manage their money through budgeting, keep track of their finances, plan ahead, make informed decisions about financial products and stay up to date on financial matters.

In making recommendations for this national money guidance service in Britain, Aegon UK CEO and panel head Otto Thorensen said that good money sense needs to be as much a part of people’s lives in the 21st century as healthy eating and keeping fit. The proposed money guidance initiative that he is recommending will help people deal with the money matters that shape their everyday lives — budgeting their weekly or monthly spending, saving and borrowing, insuring and protecting themselves and their families, retirement planning and understanding the technical language that the financial services industry too often uses.

The British government has supported the money guidance initiative by embedding financial capability into its delivery priorities for the next three years. Departments are responsible for delivering the following objectives: improving the skills of the population by 2011; creating employment opportunity for all; and promoting greater independence and well-being for older people.

Now, wouldn’t that be something for all Canadian political parties (provincial and federal) to adopt as a core part of their platform and implement? IE