Saskatchewan NDP critic calls on Ottawa to extend CEBA deadline

Thousands of small businesses will be required to repay loans under the Canada Emergency Business Account program by the end of the year.

But while the federal loans of up to $60,000 helped keep some 29,000 Saskatchewan businesses afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, many are now worried that the looming repayment deadline could have the opposite effect.

Nearly 900,000 businesses across the country were approved for CEBA loans, adding up to almost $50 billion. The repayment deadline was originally in 2022, but was extended to the end of 2023 in the wake of the Omicron variant’s emergence.

This week, the Saskatchewan NDP’s economy critic, Aleana Young, wrote to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland in Ottawa, asking for the loan deadline to be extended.

In her letter, Young described a “perfect storm of increased interest rates, high inflation, and lower consumer confidence,” which she said has been a disaster for small businesses.

“These are all causes outside the control of the many small, independent businesses that are struggling to stay afloat,” Young wrote to Freeland.

“While much is beyond control, the deadline for the CEBA loans is within yours. Repaying debts isn’t the question – it’s one of timing.”

Young said Saskatchewan is hit harder than other parts of Canada by rising interest rates, the federal carbon tax, and supply chain issues, all of which put increased pressure onto small businesses.

She also pointed to rising taxes, fees and power rates from the provincial government, claiming Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party has shrunk the province’s economy.

“This is about livelihoods, jobs, and communities,” Young said in her letter. “I hope you can see the sense in delaying your government’s deadline (to) alleviate this looming burden.”

The NDP opposition is not the only group to call for an extension on the loans.

Earlier this summer, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) conducted a survey that found almost one in five small businesses in Saskatchewan could be forced to close if the deadline is not changed. That could mean 8,000 closures.

While the deadline has already been extended once, the CFIB’s Brianna Solberg said the situation is “still dire” for many small companies.

“Particularly in the arts, recreation, hospitality sectors — they’ll struggle to make this deadline,” Solberg told John Gormley in an interview in June.

–With files from 980 CJME’s Lisa Schick.

I wrote to Deputy PM and Finance Minister ⁦@cafreeland⁩ to request she extend the CEBA deadline as small businesses across Saskatchewan struggle to stay afloat.#skpoli pic.twitter.com/alb1gB0o0L

— Aleana Young (@AleanaYoung) August 24, 2023