Canada is giving small businesses in Canada more time to pay back emergency loans offered during the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday. But, what has been offered falls short of business groups’ expectations.
Canada is giving small businesses in Canada more time to pay back emergency loans offered during the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday. But, what has been offered falls short of business groups’ expectations.
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Groups across Canada representing hundreds of thousands of small businesses have been pleading with the federal government to grant them an extension, ideally a two-year grace period and the ability to maintain access to the forgivable portion of their loans.
The federal government created CEBA early in the pandemic as one of a suite of financial aid measures aimed at keeping businesses afloat in the face of forced closures and health restrictions.
In January 2022, in the wake of the Omicron variant surge and new restrictions, the Liberals announced they would be extending the repayment deadline by a year to the end of 2023.
“It is helpful that the government has given business owners an additional year to repay the full balance of the loan, but the plan misses the most central issue - the loss of the forgivable portion,” said CFIB president and CEO Dan Kelly in a statement.
Kelly said based on CFIB data, losing access to the forgivable portion will put the future of up to 250,000 small businesses at jeopardy.
“This falls short of adequately addressing the immense financial strain and uncertainty that our members are experiencing,” said TIAC President and CEO Beth Potter.
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