On Thursday Nov 21, 2019, the NWT Literacy Council and many participants from across the Northwest Territories gathered in Yellowknife to learn about and share information on the Canada Education Savings Programs.
The Canada Education Savings Program is a program of the Government of Canada. The Government of Canada has set aside funding to help make post-secondary education more affordable for all Canadians by encouraging early planning and saving.
We began by learning about the two programs under the Canada Education Savings Program: the Canada Learning Bond (CLB) and the Canada Education Savings Grant. Both programs add funds to an eligible family’s Registered Savings Plan (RESP). Following the morning of learning, we offered a CLB sign up event for people in Dettah, N’dilo and Yellowknife.
This was a great learning opportunity to continue the NWT Literacy Council’s awareness campaign for the Canada Learning Bond and Canada Education Savings Grant. The Council’s goal is to spread this knowledge throughout the Northwest Territories. Watch for future Canada Education Savings Program events in your community.
If you want to get started with opening an RESP, you will need:
- your Social Insurance Number (SIN)
- one piece of government-issued photo ID for the adult subscriber
- birth certificate for the beneficiary child(ren)
- SIN for the child(ren)
Go to the website to start the process. SmartSaver will give you a $25 gift card via your email and connect you with a bank of your choosing.
Thank you to all the volunteers and families that participated, helped and provided feedback. This will allow us to make changes to offer future successful training and take-up events.
We understand that there are some barriers in communities to open an RESP, for example, lack of bank and cost of documents such as birth certificates. We are working with various partners to streamline the process so children in the NWT can take advantage of these programs.
Christine Barker
Community Literacy Coordinator
Canada Learning Bond
