Credit Canada

A not for profit charity since 1966

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Executive Director's Address | Mission Statement | What We Value |Board of Directors

Executive Director's Address.

Helping Canadians learn critical life skills in financial management is what we are all about at Credit Canada.

Helping people deal with immediate debt problems is only part of the story at Credit Canada. We also equip people with the skills they need to manage their finances intelligently over time, and hopefully for a lifetime. This is the central motivation that accounts for the moral and ethical standards that unite our organization. This year, once again, our agency has grown. Its reach and influence, and the numbers of families and individuals we have helped, has expanded. We are pleased.

Yet our satisfaction is tempered by an underlying concern - not just for the rising tide of consumer debt that threatens to overwhelm the welfare and futures of Canadian consumers - but also for the recent difficulties that have touched the Credit Counselling industry just south of our own borders.

There has been an astounding growth of the credit industry, as well as fundamental shifts in society's values and financial expectations. Rising affluence and rising debt have become almost indistinguishable, as year-over-year consumers embrace higher levels of debt together with lower levels of savings.

Much of our organization's growth can be solely attributed to this fundamental imbalance. Yet each day - in direct contrast to this pervasive indifference to fiscal responsibility - we also witness the admirable personal commitment that our clients apply to resolving their personal credit difficulties and to mastering their own financial futures.

Debt repayment is only one important dimension of this work. In the face of the radical social change that has occurred, it is equally important that we all find and pursue every means to educate and inform young people and consumers about the fundamentals of personal financial management. Only by this means can a true balance be struck.

As we have recently learned, these lessons are equally true for our own industry.

If Credit Canada is to succeed - and it must - then all factions within our industry must work together. We must finally learn that Credit Counselling Services are not the debt collection method of last resort. Rather, they can be a compelling force for social change. The education we provide, our media voice, and the Debt Repayment Programs we administer change lives and affect consumer values. We work with individuals, but our influence affects social outcomes.

We appeal to credit lenders to embrace this truth and to maximize their fair share contributions and cooperation with Credit Counselling Agencies throughout North America. And we look to our own profession to double its commitment to education and advocacy for consumer welfare.

Recent concerns regarding some U.S. Credit Counselling Agencies demonstrate the danger of losing sight of these goals.

Like our American counterparts, Credit Canada is a not-for-profit charitable organization. However - due to no small measure to the current support of Canadian credit providers, banks, and retailers - we have built a vibrant agency that is both well run, and which has grown at double-digit rates for more than a decade. Yet even this success is vulnerable.

Without a concerted commitment by credit lenders and a texture of viable government policies and legislation, we fear that an increasing number of consumers will succumb to the ravages of debt. Canada's aging population alone may see to this - as many lose their ability to work and to service their overwhelming personal debt.

Last year we shared the stories of the individual courage of our clients. Please take the time to read their stories. You will understand why our work is so important.

For my part, I thank our Boards of Directors and Governors for their wise direction and support.

I also trust the values and the commitment of our staff, and I thank them for their devotion to this work. Together, we have embraced the mantle of leadership in our industry, not through ambition, but through the knowledge that no day can be wasted and no consumer in financial difficulties can be left behind. I also wish to thank our funding supporters in the Credit industry, and I welcome your suggestions as to what else your organization can do to align with our work - for it is this work that will truly secure our collective futures.

Laurie Campbell
Executive Director

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Mission Statement.

"We are a leading Canadian charity that provides money management and credit management counselling and education services that help individuals and families prevent and respond to financial difficulties." In fulfilling our Mission, we:

• Provide professional, unbiased, confidential, comprehensive and consumer-oriented counselling
  services in:
  
  Personal debt management and reduction;
  Alternatives to personal bankruptcy;
  Credit re-establishment.
  
• Raise awareness of the importance of money management and credit management in the lives of individuals and families in the communities where we operate
  
• Serve individuals and families from all cultures and income levels
  
• Provide administration/management services to other agencies with a common value proposition so they can serve individuals and families effectively
  
• Educate individuals and families about budgeting and effective money management to help prevent financial difficulties.

 

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Values Statement.

Credit Canada is an organization which not only serves the community as an advisor on financial management and economic prosperity, but it has also established and preserved its role as a concerned and understanding support for all of its clients and creditors.

Our values inform how we work together to fulfill our mission. They guide us in our daily operations, and when entering into partnerships and alliances, implementing new programs, and sharing information and ideas. At all times we value:

Leadership.

We are a role model and leader in the credit counselling field, sharing our ideas and successes with other service providers. We work with national, provincial and local organizations to better meet the needs of Canadian consumers.

Community Diversity.

We are an equal opportunity service provider and employer with staff and volunteers who reflect the diversity of our stakeholders and our greater community. We serve individuals and families from all cultures and income levels regardless of their ability to pay.

Efficiency.

We are effective and efficient in our use of funds earned by or granted to our organization.

Professional Excellence.

We provide knowledgeable and professional credit counselling and education services to consumers while respecting their right to privacy and confidentiality. We support the continuing professional development of all staff and volunteers.

Highest Ethical Standards.

We operate under the highest ethical standards and ensure that our services and organizational role is consistent with all applicable laws and regulations.

Respect.

We respect the individuals and families we serve and recognize that they usually come to us as a result of difficult circumstances.

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Board of Directors.

Officers

President and Chair of the Board Dawna M. Matton		Past President V.R.B. Lovekin		Executive Director Laurie A. Campbell
Vice President James T. Lumsden		Treasurer Sylvia L. Sarkus		Legal Counsel Kenneth D. Kraft

Directors

Sam F. Carnovale Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation		Rick Gummer MCAP		Richard R. Pyves Consultant
Arthur H. Chamberlain Central 1 Credit Union		Kenneth D. Kraft Heenan Blaikie, LLP		Sylvia L. Sarkus www.sylviasarkus.com
Bryan L. Childerhouse Capital One		Linda J. Leaderdale Cambria Canada		Barbara Stewart Cumberland Private Wealth Management Inc.
Amy Cole Canadian Tire Corp.		V.R.B. Lovekin Barrister & Solicitor		Colleen L. Tessier Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
R. Derek Frost RDF Group		James T. Lumsden Royal Bank		Troy D. Underhill Citibank Canada
Karen Grant Trans Union of Canada		Dawna M. Matton Insurance Institute of Canada		Scott K. Wilson Bluecap
Alison Griffiths RTR Media Inc.		Sandra L. Milner-Docking C.I.B.C.

   

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Credit Canada, the operating name for Credit Counselling Service of Toronto, is a not-for-profit charitable service that has assisted thousands of people with credit counselling and debt management programs since 1966. Our agency is a Charter Member of the Canadian Association of Credit Counselling Services and affiliated with the National Foundation for Consumer Credit (NFCC).

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