Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

As pandemic business loan repayment deadline looms, calls for extending deadline grow

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 11 Jul, 2023 09:58 AM
  • As pandemic business loan repayment deadline looms, calls for extending deadline grow

New Democrats and a business group are calling on the federal government to extend the deadline for small businesses to repay loans they received from a pandemic support program. 

But an economist is cautioning against the move, saying taxpayers shouldn't subsidize businesses that are still struggling to pay back the loans more than three years since the pandemic hit.

The Canada Emergency Business Account program provided about 900,000 small businesses and not-for-profits up to $60,000 in interest-free loans during the pandemic.

The deadline to repay these loans was extended last year to December 31, 2023 to ease pressure on businesses still recovering from the pandemic. 

But now, both the NDP and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business are calling for this deadline to be extended again, with the federation claiming nearly 20 per cent of businesses are at risk of closure without an extension. 

"While the NDP was glad to see the government listen to calls to extend the original repayment deadline, a second extension giving Canada's small businesses more time to get back on their feet is needed," NDP small business critic Richard Cannings wrote to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday.

"There is a real risk that many will not be able to stay afloat, and a substantial portion of that debt will never be repaid."

Businesses that pay back their loans by the end of the year are eligible to have up to a third of their loans forgiven. Those that don't would see their debts converted to a two-year loan with interest of five per cent annually.

Miles Corak, an economics professor at City University of New York, said the request for another extension should give pause to policymakers interested in promoting productivity growth.

"If after three years, these firms are not in a position to repay loans that they took out voluntarily under a clear set of rules ... they clearly are not able to meet the rigorous demands of a competitive market," he said. 

MORE National ARTICLES

Workers to rally on day six of B.C. port strike, employer seeks binding arbitration

Workers to rally on day six of B.C. port strike, employer seeks binding arbitration
About 7,400 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union have been off the job since Canada Day to back demands for improved wages and provisions against contracting out and automation. The mid-morning demonstration is organized by the union and billed as a solidarity rally, with members reminded that there is pride, strength and commitment in numbers.  

Workers to rally on day six of B.C. port strike, employer seeks binding arbitration

Deadly crash in the Okanagan

Deadly crash in the Okanagan
The B-C Highway Patrol says it's investigating a deadly crash involving a pedestrian in the Okanagan over the Canada Day long weekend.  Police say they were called to the crash around noon last Saturday, where a car hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk on Highway 97-A in Enderby, B-C. 

Deadly crash in the Okanagan

Heat wave to hit BC

Heat wave to hit BC
Fraser Heath says a coming heat wave is set to hit B-C's Fraser Canyon, warning of temperatures forecasted to hit the mid-30s into the weekend. The health authority says Environment and Climate Change Canada's heat warning covers the communities of Lytton, North Bend, Boston Bar, Yale, Othello and Sunshine Valley.   

Heat wave to hit BC

Surrey RCMP say one person injured in shooting, believed linked to drug trade

Surrey RCMP say one person injured in shooting, believed linked to drug trade
One person is being treated in hospital for a non-life-threatening injury after a shooting in Surrey, B.C., Wednesday afternoon. Police were called to the 80 Avenue and Fleetwood Park area just before 6 p.m. for reports of two groups of men shooting at each other.

Surrey RCMP say one person injured in shooting, believed linked to drug trade

Victims of fatal 2021 B.C. library stabbing describe shattered lives at sentencing

Victims of fatal 2021 B.C. library stabbing describe shattered lives at sentencing
Yannick Bandaogo, 30, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and several attempted murder charges earlier this year. Several victims spoke before Justice Geoffrey R.J. Gaul of the B.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday, including the mother of the lone victim killed in the attack.  

Victims of fatal 2021 B.C. library stabbing describe shattered lives at sentencing

B.C. health registry expansion aims to connect patients with family doctors: minister

B.C. health registry expansion aims to connect patients with family doctors: minister
Health Minister Adrian Dix says the expanded Health Connect Registry, which launched July 1, aims to make it easier for B.C. patients to get a family doctor or nurse practitioner in their community by signing up for a primary-care provider.

B.C. health registry expansion aims to connect patients with family doctors: minister