Last updated: 4:20 PM ET, Thu September 14, 2023
News that the federal government has announced a one-year extension of the deadline for small businesses to payback their pandemic loans (CEBA), which ACTA has been advocating for and recently launched a letter writing campaign, "delighted" Wendy Paradis, ACTA President.
In an email Thursday afternoon while at ACTA's annual summit in Toronto, Paradis said “ACTA is delighted with this afternoon’s announcement to extend CEBA loan repayments. Across Canada, our members are working extremely hard to recover from the pandemic, and more time to repay these loans will be very helpful. “
The CBC first reported Thursday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is extending the dealing for CEBA - The Canada Emergency Business Account that was introduced at the height of the pandemic to help out small businesses forced to close or limit their operations due to public health measures. The program offered interest-free loans backed by the federal government.
A recent survey by ACTA on Debt and Government Pandemic Loans conducted in July reveals that 27% of travel businesses owe at least $100,000, 56% owe at least $50,000 and 80% owe at least $10,000.
ACTA has launched a letter writing campaign August 29 that was to run through September 29, asking industry members to send a letter to their Member of Parliament and Minister Freeland.
Any business that hasn't paid back the unforgivable portion of its loan by the deadline is required to repay the entire loan. The remainder of the loan also starts accruing interest after the deadline passes. According to the CBC, The federal government has been under immense pressure from a number of business advocacy groups to extend the deadline past 2023. Other have been calling for complete forgiveness of the outstanding loans.
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