A troubling new survey from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) reveals that over 200,000 Canadian small businesses had to take on new debt to repay their CEBA loan.
The Canadian Emergency Business Account (CEBA) is a government-funded, interest-free business loan introduced in April 2020 and created to help businesses pay for expenses during the pandemic. However, according to the CFIB, an association of small and medium-sized businesses, 23% of businesses acquired additional debt so they could refinance their CEBA loans and “retain access to the forgivable portion.” The survey was based on a sample of 4,092 CFIB members.
Loan holders who repay the outstanding balance of the loan on or before the January 18, 2024, deadline will receive a 25% loan forgiveness (up to $10,000), according to the CEBA website.
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Another 50,000 small…
