Charlie Angus is calling on the Prime Minister to give businesses more time to sort out The Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) repayment plans, and to extend the deadline for applying for exemptions.
CEBA came to light during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering businesses interest-free loans backed by the federal government to help keep their doors open.
In September, the deadline was moved from the end of December this year to mid-January, 2024.
According to the federal government, CEBA provided $49 billion in interest-free, partially forgivable loans of up to $60,000 to nearly 900,000 small businesses and not-for-profit organizations to help cover their operating costs during the pandemic.
The Timmins-James Bay MP said in Question Period last week businesses in the north have been hammered the last couple of years as a result of the pandemic and now inflationary pressures.
He said paying CEBA loans back in January will kill some of them.
“The Prime Minister needs to do the right thing and work with business to come up with a better plan moving forward,” said Angus. “We need to extend the deadlines and re-instate the loan forgiveness portion. Not doing so will result in some businesses closing their doors.”