It’s due date, Thursday, for Canadian businesses that took out loans related to the COVID-19 pandemic under a Government of Canada program.
Hundreds of thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations have benefited from the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loan.
Up to a third of the loan could be forgiven if the outstanding amount is repaid by this Thursday, otherwise the debt will be converted into a 5% annual interest loan over three years.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) specifies that owners who want to keep the grant portion must repay up to $40,000 or request refinancing from the financial institution that granted them the loan, otherwise, the majority of them will see the amount to be repaid increase from $40,000 to $60,000, an increase of 50%.
CFIB is calling on the Government of Canada to establish a multi-year repayment plan for recipients who were deemed ineligible after receiving their loan and to ensure that those who were mistakenly designated ineligible do not lose the grant portion of CEBA.
Requests to extend the deadline have so far been refused by the federal government.
As of January 15, it was estimated that nearly 70% of CEBA beneficiaries were able to benefit from a partial rebate, declared Katherine Cuplinskas, the spokesperson for the office of the Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau clearly closed the door to a further postponement of the deadline on Tuesday, speaking in front of an audience of some 650 business people gathered in Montreal at the invitation of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal .
Mr. Trudeau reiterated his message on Wednesday during a press conference in Saint-Jean, New Brunswick.
“With the economic recovery, we moved beyond the pandemic, but we recognized that times were still difficult, particularly with the inflation that we have seen in recent years. This is why we have made two extensions already in the program. Now businesses have different options. […] COVID supports had to end at some point,” he said.