(OTTAWA) Small business owners are calling on the federal finance minister to consider additional help to pay off pandemic-related debt as the sixth wave of COVID-19 drives another drop in sales.
Posted at 3:00 p.m.
Minister Chrystia Freeland has heard this cry for help several times in recent days during a post-budget tour across the country.
His response was that emergency measures are no longer needed with the crisis over, the economy booming and the government needing to tighten its fiscal belt.
Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), says 40% of its members say they have returned to normal sales.
More were worried about the impact on revenues and their ability to repay loans when traffic is not there, despite the end of several health restrictions in the provinces, he adds.
Its members have expressed these concerns to Mr.me Freeland during a budget webinar. Mr. Kelly said he left the meeting believing that the Minister of Finance had taken note of their concerns.
The budget does not extend the emergency benefit programs that will end on May 7, but Mme Freeland told webinar attendees that she heard them when asked about debt relief, later inviting further discussion.
CFIB members have taken on an average of $160,000 in pandemic-related debt, including about $60,000 from a federal loan program.
The government has set December 2023 as the deadline to repay these interest-free loans and to benefit from a partial write-off. However, many small business owners believe they will need an extension until 2024 to finish paying back.
“Yes, the streets are busier again, yes, the main economic indicators are positive, but there are lots and lots of small businesses – especially in retail, hospitality, the service sector and arts and entertainment – hanging by a thread and now more in debt,” Kelly said in an interview.
There were huge amounts of new spending on almost every line of the (federal) budget, and yet for any kind of business support it was pretty thin.
Dan Kelly, President of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business
He says about three-quarters of CFIB members said they don’t find the federal budget helpful, even though it doesn’t include any debt relief measures or cut card fees. credit for SMEs.
On this last point, the budget promises to continue the consultations promised in last year’s budget, which were based on a Liberal election promise in 2019.
“I would love to be able to accommodate anything you would like to see the federal government do, but I recognize that I don’t and never will,” Minister Freeland told CFIB members.
“What I will tell you is that I am always careful when drawing up the budget. When rolling out policies, I pay attention to what they will mean for small businesses. »
One positive element Kelly noted in the budget is the promise to increase the limit for small businesses to benefit from a lower tax rate, which he says should remove barriers to small business growth. .