Feds’ Extension of CEBA Repayment Deadline Misses Key Factor, Says CFIB

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits the construction site of an affordable housing project in London, Ont., on Sept. 13, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Nicole Osborne)

While Ottawa has extended deadlines for small businesses to repay Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loans doled out during the pandemic, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) says it’s not enough to help many struggling businesses.

A small business could apply for up to $60,000 through the CEBA program, and up to $20,000 would be forgiven if paid back by a certain date.

The government announced this week the overall loan repayment deadline will be extended by a year to Dec. 31, 2026. But the deadline to meet the condition for the forgiveness grant of up to $20,000 was increased by just 18 days, from Dec. 31, 2023, to Jan. 18, 2024.

According to the CFIB, the measure doesn’t go far enough because 69 percent of small businesses that received CEBA loans haven’t repaid them in full, compared to just 18 percent that have.

“The extension of the forgivable deadline by a few weeks will be of very little value to the thousands of small business owners who just don’t have money to repay now,” said CFIB in a Sept. 14 statement.

“The government has failed to address the most critical issue on outstanding CEBA loans - the loss of the $20,000 forgivable portion for those unable to repay the loans by year end. The extension of the forgivable deadline by a few weeks will be of very little value to the thousands of small business owners who just don’t have money to repay now.”

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In June, the CFIB warned up to 19 percent, or 250,000, small businesses were at risk of closing down unless the CEBA deadline was extended. “The message from small businesses is loud and clear: they need more time to repay their CEBA loan,” the CFIB said.

Previously, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce pushed for the loan repayment deadline to be extended. Also, according to the CFIB, 35,000 businesses signed a petition urging the government for “improvements to pandemic supports, including the need to extend CEBA loans.”

Subsequently, the government initially extended the deadline to the end of 2023.

“While many have paid these loans back, we know that some need a bit more runway,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sept. 14, in announcing the extensions. Around 900,000 small businesses and not-for-profits received CEBA subsidies.

The management of the CEBA program, which loaned small Canadian enterprises $49.2 billion, was outsourced to Accenture, a Dublin-based IT and consultancy firm. The government agency responsible for Accenture’s hiring, Export Development Canada, remunerated the Irish company more than $208 million.

Initially, the government did not disclose its outsourcing to Accenture nor how much it paid the Irish firm.