SME owners who received a Canadian Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loan have 100 days to repay it or risk losing the grant portion, which can be up to $20,000.
This is the message released Monday morning by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
“The government is encouraging homeowners who cannot repay their CEBA loan within the next 100 days and want to retain the subsidy portion to take out a bank loan with a high interest rate. It’s incomprehensible! “, denounced Jasmin Guénette, vice president of national affairs at the CFIB, in a press release.
New deadlines
By mid-September, Ottawa had extended the deadlines, but the CFIB believes this is still not enough.
According to the employers’ association, almost 34% of owners will repay their loan on time. More than 30% plan to take out loans to keep the grant share, and 29% have given up on this loan because they cannot pay it back at all.
Overall, the overwhelming majority (87%) are requesting a postponement to the end of 2024 in order to take a breather.