• Valerie Pringle, joined by distinguished panel of experts Bev Moir, Richard Florida and Moses Znaimer, reach out to Canadians across the country to talk investing

TORONTO, Jan. 31 /CNW/ - Scotiabank's Let the Saving Begin tour heads to its next stop - Facebook. Tomorrow at noon, Canadians are encouraged to join Valerie Pringle on Facebook at www.facebook.com/scotiabank for a live discussion with an influential panel of experts to talk about retirement and investing. The panel includes:

• Bev Moir: ScotiaMcLeod Senior Wealth Advisor and retirement expert who will co-host the discussion alongside Ms. Pringle and share insights on what Scotiabank is hearing from Canadians about investing.
• Richard Florida: Mr. Florida will draw from the message in his latest book The Great Reset about life made better not by ownership of real estate, appliances, cars, and all manner of material goods, but of greater flexibility and lower levels of debt, of more time with family and friends, greater promise of personal development, and access to more and better experiences.
• Moses Znaimer: A media pioneer and creator of Citytv and MuchMusic, it is Mr. Znaimer's role as the Founder of ZoomerMedia Limited, a media company devoted to those 45 plus that is of particular interest to this discussion. He asks, "What is 'old' anyway, these days?  When does it begin?  How should society understand and respond to the deep changes at hand given that we are all, generally speaking, living longer and better?"  In Canada, this discussion is led, with increasing vigor, by the Advocacy Association known as CARP; of which he is also the President.

"Since last summer, the Let the Saving Begin tour has visited many communities across Canada - from St. John's, Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia," said Marie-Josee Vinet, Vice President, Direct & Digital Marketing, Scotiabank. "While we have not been able to visit every city in the country, the digital event on Facebook is our chance to hear from all Canadians, providing them with the opportunity to participate in the conversation.

"Facebook has played a large role in the Let the Saving Begin program as it has become a forum for people from coast-to-coast to share their thoughts, challenges and advice about saving and investing with other Canadians and Scotiabank," continued Ms. Vinet.

Scotiabank invites all Canadians to come and join the conversation on Tuesday, February 1^st at noon ET by visiting us at www.facebook.com/scotiabank.

On the second-leg of the Let the Saving Begin tour, Ms. Pringle has met with a broad range of Canadians in different regions across the country. From retirees, to curlers, to farmers, she has gathered insights and listened to the types of questions Canadians have regarding investments and retirement planning. Ms. Pringle has visited Southwestern Ontario, St. John's, Saskatoon and Victoria. Following the digital event there will be one last discussion in Toronto with group of recreational hockey players.

Let the Saving Begin is a Scotiabank program designed to inspire and empower Canadians to get on track with their saving, investing and borrowing habits.

Built on three simple principles, Let the Saving Begin encourages Canadians to:

• Save automatically, because it works;
• Invest for your future, because no one else will; and
• Borrow to get ahead, not fall behind.

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is one of North America's premier financial institutions and Canada's most international bank. With more than 70,000 employees, Scotiabank Group and its affiliates serve some 18.6 million customers in more than 50 countries around the world. Scotiabank offers a broad range of products and services including personal, commercial, corporate and investment banking. With assets above $526 billion (as at October 31, 2010), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (BNS) and New York Exchanges (BNS). For more information please visit www.scotiabank.com.