The following letter was sent to the Minister of Finance, local MP Patty Hajdu and MP Marcus Powlowski on July 4, 2023
Dear Honourable Minister Freeland:
EXTENSION OF CEBA REPAYMENT TERMS
The Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce is writing to express our support for the requests made by Ontario’s BIAs and the local Waterfront District BIA for an extension to the CEBA payment deadline.
The Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) was an important lifeline to many businesses who were forced to close and had restricted operations during COVID-19. The Federal Government requests that businesses pay back the full amount of their loans by December 2023 to receive 33% of their loan (up to $20,000) forgiveness.
Recent business surveys by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association and the Ottawa Coalition of BIA’s show that many small businesses are struggling to repay these loans in full by the end of 2023 in order to receive partial loan forgiveness. The CFIB survey indicates that only 10% have repaid their loans and that 43% risk missing the payment deadline while small businesses in the arts, recreation and information, hospitality and social services sectors are most likely to miss the current CEBA deadline.
In recognition of these challenges, we encourage you to extend the CEBA payment deadline until December 31, 2025 to ensure that the hardest hit businesses are able to access loan forgiveness of up to $20,000.
Thank you for your consideration.
