Roughly 200,000 small businesses took on new debt to refinance their Canada Emergency Business Account loans to access the forgivable portion of the loan, says the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
CFIB president Dan Kelly says many businesses that had to borrow to repay their CEBA loans are facing high interest rates and will be challenged to meet their payment obligations.
More than 50,000 small businesses are also pursuing a special extension to Thursday as they are in the process of refinancing.
The federal government provided interest-free loans to small businesses to help recover from losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Businesses that met the Jan. 18 repayment deadline could access 25 per cent forgiveness of their loans.
Corinne Pohlmann of CFIB says Ottawa should do more to help businesses deal with the high cost of operations and provide concrete financial relief measures in the upcoming federal budget.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 26, 2024
Banner image via The Canadian Press
