Canadian small businesses push for CEBA repayment extension

CITYnews halifax \ By Cormac Mac Sweeney and Hana Mae Nassar

Small businesses from coast to coast to coast are pushing the federal government to extend the deadline to repay pandemic loans, claiming a quarter of a million companies are at risk of closure.

According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), businesses need another year or two to pay back the financial assistance, including the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA), which provided interest-free loans of up to $60,000.

A portion of the CEBA loans — $20,000 — is forgivable by the federal government if the money is repaid by Dec. 31, 2023. If not, the full amount is due with five per cent interest tacked on.

“Just all of a sudden, they’re paying a lot more back in loan or their debt amount has increased, and they’ll have to pay interest charges, of course, on the full amount,” said Christina Santini, director of National Affairs at the CFIB.

She says small businesses have been struggling with a number of issues since the height of pandemic lockdowns.

“They just haven’t come back to normal,” Santini explained. “Their revenues aren’t where they were (pre-pandemic), their profits are even lower because of inflation, supply chain disruptions, labour shortages — it’s just all piling on.”

The CFIB says a joint letter signed by more than 250 business groups was sent to Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland last week, urging the government to consider an extension.

Santini tells CityNews around 250,000 businesses could be forced to close down without an extension.

“It could impact the economy in terms of lost jobs, impact customers in terms of lost choice. Ultimately, it’s going to impact those small business owners and the people they employ, as well as the communities they serve the most,” she said.

The CFIB’s petition to the federal government now has the signatures of more than 30,000 business owners. It is asking the deadline be moved to the end of December 2025, or at least the end of 2024.

The federation notes it has received support from the NDP and Bloc Québécois but has not yet gotten a response from the Liberal government.