Feds extend repayment deadline for emergency business account
BNN Bloomberg
Businesses struggling under yet another round of lockdowns and capacity restrictions will have an extra year to repay emergency interest-free loans issued by the federal government.
OTTAWA -- Businesses struggling under yet another round of lockdowns and capacity restrictions will have an extra year to repay emergency interest-free loans issued by the federal government.
The Canada Emergency Business Account offered interest-free loans of up to $60,000 to small businesses and not-for-profits.
When the government first created the CEBA program at the onset of the pandemic, it set a repayment deadline of Dec. 31, 2022, for anyone who wanted to take advantage of zero interest and having a portion of the loan forgiven.
But since then, some businesses have had only brief reprieves from the onslaught of COVID-19 and the restrictive public health measures that come with it.
"The bottom line is of course this we will continue to be there to have people's backs with as much as it takes with as long as it takes until we get through this pandemic," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a media briefing Wednesday.
Businesses who were approved under the Canada Emergency Business Account will now have until the end of 2023 to pay back their loans, Trudeau announced.
