Advocates are calling on the federal government to give small business owners more time to repay assistance granted under the Canada Emergency Business Account. At present, the deadline for repayment is set for Dec. 31. Business owners who don’t repay by that date will not be entitled to forgiveness of up to $20,000 in loans received and will be expected to pay five percent interest on the entire amount.
“We’re not asking for total loan forgiveness—just more time,” Corinne Pohlmann, EVP at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, told Retail Insider. “If businesses are forced to close because of their pandemic debt, government will not be able to recoup that money. It’s a win-win situation if businesses are allowed more time to repay.”
