Literacy once meant the ability to read and write. From Canada’s earliest days, volunteers went out to bush camps, the shanty towns lining the railroads and the mines as labourer-teachers.

In the 1940s, the effort shifted to the factories where illiterate workers fuelled the growth of the urban industrial economy. Volunteers taught adults to read in church basements, public libraries and prisons.

By the late 20th century, however, professional pedagogues had taken over. They established five levels of literacy. Then they expanded the definition to include numeracy, computer literacy, workplace literacy, media literacy and other “essential skills” — all taught by certified teachers. The old voluntary model largely fell by the wayside.

But now, in a welcome marriage of past and present, the volunteers are back in the picture and the focus is again on basic life skills.

The unlikely instigator of this development — although he didn’t know it at the time — was Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. Four years ago, he identified “financial literacy” as a national priority and announced that his federal government would spearhead a strategy to help Canadians navigate the world of banking, borrowing, credit and money management.

His motives were not primarily altruistic. He was seeking a way to shift responsibility for retirement savings from Ottawa to individual Canadians and reduce the need for government regulation of the banks, as they jacked up their service fees and developed an ever-more-perplexing array of financial products.

But the gap in everyday knowledge Flaherty pinpointed was real. And the teacher-driven literacy movement wasn’t equipped to guide people through today’s financial labyrinth. So it had to reach out to volunteers.

Worthwhile initiatives sprang up across the country. One of the most successful was Money Matters, a partnership between ABC Literacy Canada, a national non-profit organization, and TD Bank Group, that provides free classes to adults who need help to live within their means, set aside money for emergencies, borrow intelligently and cope with debts.

They take place in community centres, libraries, workplaces and bank branches. Specially trained bank employees act as volunteer tutors. ABC handles the outreach and administration. The course includes a calculator, workbooks and a copy of Gail Vaz-Oxlade’s bookEasy Money, written in clear language for people with limited incomes.

Since the program’s inception in 2011 more than 1,000 adult learners have taken the course and more than 200 TD employees have become volunteer tutors. The numbers are slated to grow every year.

ABC Literacy just released a survey by a Calgary-based agency that calculates the social returns on corporate and non-profit investments. SiMPACT Strategy Group found that every dollar invested in Money Matters produced $2.01 in benefits by steering participants away from high-fee payday loan and cheque cashing outlets, helping them pay down their debts, and showing them how to open registered education saving plans (RESP) so their children can attend college or university.

The program is not as inclusive as it could be. Only TD employees can volunteer and only individuals who are enrolled in literacy programs are eligible. Nor is it as flexible as it could be. It consists of four discrete segments — budgeting, banking, credit and borrowing, and RESPs and other ways to save — which may not meet the needs of clients struggling to make ends meet.

Having said that, the model could easily be replicated by any financial institution working with any social service agency. It could be done locally or nationally. The curriculum could be loosened. The stream of tutors could be widened to volunteers from trust companies, credit unions and the financial media.

None of this obviates the need for Ottawa to improve public pensions, for banks to offer basic savings accounts without onerous service fees or for Flaherty to recognize that Canada’s working poor can’t make ends meet on what they earn, let alone save for the future.

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But the finance minister’s financial literacy drive has produced an unexpected benefit. Volunteers are pitching in, sharing their knowledge and reaching across the income gap that divides Canada.