finance minister posts

Groups across Canada are teaming up to help fight the lack of financial literacy in young and old alike.
Ottawa has declared November as Financial Literacy Month with government agencies and various non-profit groups partnering and hosting special events throughout the country. The Financial Literacy Action Group (FLAG) is heading the campaign along with the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, the federal government's lead agency on financial literacy.

In an attempt to curtail rising household debt, the Federal government has announced a second major tightening of mortgage lending rules -- a change that could affect up to 20,000 new mortgages and cause house prices to fall in the short-term.

According to media reports, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Monday that three main changes would be made to the mortgage rules: mortgages with amortization periods greater than 30 years will no longer qualify for government-backed mortgage insurance, down from 35 years; the refinance limit on a mortgage will be reduced to 85 per cent of the home's value, down from 90 per cent; and Ottawa will no longer insure home equity lines of credit (HELOC).