Credit Canada

A not for profit charity since 1966

About us.

Executive Director's Address | Mission Statement | What We Value | Board of Governors | 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 not-for-profit charitable organization governed by a volunteer Board of Directors that reflects the community we serve. The purposes of our Organization are:

Education.

Raise awareness of the importance of managing credit wisely and educate the community in the management of credit.

Unbiased Credit Counselling.

Provide professional, unbiased, confidential, and consumer-oriented credit counselling services in:

•   Personal debt management and reduction
•   Alternatives to personal bankruptcy
•   Budgeting and money management
•   Credit re-establishment

We serve families and individuals from all cultures and income levels.

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What We Value.

At all times Credit Canada strives to build:

Quality Service.

We provide knowledgeable and professional credit service to consumers of all cultures regardless of their ability to pay, while respecting their right to privacy and confidentiality.

Credibility Through Professional Excellence.

We are role models and leaders in the credit counselling field, sharing our ideas and successes with other service providers. We support the continuing professional development of all staff and volunteers. We market our services to all members of the Toronto community using a targeted marketing and communications program to make CC the preferred choice for credit counselling and debt management services.

Responsiveness.

We ensure that our services and organizational role reflect the needs of our stakeholders while being consistent with laws and regulations. We endeavour to help all consumers become knowledgeable in debt management and budgeting.

Community Membership.

We are an equal opportunity service provider and employer with staff and volunteers reflecting the diversity of our stakeholders and our greater community.

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Board of Governors.

Our Board of Governors consists of former Board members, past Presidents, and individuals who have provided time and interest in our organization over the years, together with leaders from many segments of the community. They provide us with leadership, knowledge, advice and encouragement.

Pran Bahl		Veronica Maidman		John Owen, A.C.I.
Laura Legge, QC		Errol R. Markle		Philip Spencer, QC
Alasdair J. McKichan		Joanne Thomas Yaccato

Board of Directors.

Officers

President and Chair of the Board V.R.B. Lovekin		Past President John W. Murray		Executive Director Laurie A. Campbell
Vice President Craig R. Penney		Treasurer Stephen L. Cornell		Legal Counsel Kenneth D. Kraft

Directors

Stuart B. Barnes MJR Collection Services Limited		Kenneth D. Kraft Heenan Blaikie, LLP		Richard R. Pyves Consultant
Ann Bowman Financial Planners Standards Council		V.R.B. Lovekin Barrister & Solicitor		Jonathan R. Smith CIBC National Collection
Sam F. Carnovale Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation		Karen B. Mattina Trans Union Canada		Colleen L. Tessier Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Arthur H. Chamberlain Credit Union Central of Ontario		Dawna M. Matton Insurance Institute of Canada		David C. Trahair Chartered Accountant
Bryan L. Childerhouse Consultant		Dorothy H. Millman SBS		Troy Underhill GE Money - Canada
Stephen L. Cornell Chase Card Services		John W. Murray Consultant		Terri A. Williams Dynamic Funds
John E. Ecker The Ontario Trillium Foundation		Craig R. Penney MasterCard Canada, Inc.		Scott K. Wilson Capital One Canada

Honorary Life Director

Judge D. Vanek

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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 Credit Counselling Canada, the Ontario Association of Credit Counselling Services and affiliated with the National Foundation for Consumer Credit (NFCC).