Jagmeet Singh calls for CEBA extension to help hundreds of thousands of shops stay in business

TORONTO - On Monday, Canada’s NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh will be in Toronto to meet with small business owners who have joined his call to urge the government to extend the CEBA loan repayment deadline. With the most recent interest rate increase announced last Wednesday, small business owners are being hit with higher mortgages and rent, on-top of their already sky-high operating costs.

“Small business owners are having to stretch their money further than ever before, only to get less for it,” said Singh. “All the while, interest rates are going up, and increasing costs aren't slowing down. I’m hearing from hardworking business owners here in Toronto today about the struggles they’re facing just trying to keep the lights on. It would be devastating for small business owners, their workers, and our cities if the government forced them to pay back CEBA loans while times are this tough.”

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has been calling on the government to move the repayment deadline for CEBA - they say if forced to pay by the end of the year, 250,000 Canadian businesses are at risk of closing.

With CEBA, if owners are to still be eligible for a 33 per cent loan forgiveness of up to $20,000 and avoid a five per cent interest rate, they’ll have to pay off the loan by December 31, 2023. Despite pleads from businesses across the country, the Liberals have still not made any promises to push back this deadline to at least December 2024.

“It’s not fair to local shop owners that the Liberals keep saying they have businesses’ backs when, in reality, they’ve only been looking out for ultra-rich corporations,” added Singh. “While the Liberals are holding strong on putting everyday shop owners at risk of bankruptcy, they’ve been doling out billions of public dollars to the richest oil and gas companies. And the Conservatives, care more about saving mega- corporations and their rich CEOs a few bucks - not helping family businesses.

New Democrats believe that small shops are the cornerstone of our communities. Threatening their ability to keep the doors open when Canada is still trying to bounce back from a global pandemic, and cost-of-living crisis, doesn’t sit right with Canadians. These business owners aren’t asking for a free-ride; they just need a little more time to get back on their feet. Helping out hardworking small businesses and the communities who depend on them is the very least the government should do.”