Are you a small business owner worried about repaying pandemic loans? We want to hear from you

Many small business owners were likely hoping to see another deadline extension this week for paying back emergency pandemic business loans, but the issue wasn’t covered in Tuesday’s fiscal update, leaving the deadline less than 60 days away.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) said on Tuesday it was “deeply disappointed” that the fall economic statement did not include a deadline extension, which is fast approaching.

“Sadly, Ottawa ignored the pleas of thousands of small business owners across Canada and didn’t address the crippling pandemic debt that’s weighing on small firms,” CFIB president Dan Kelly wrote in a written statement, BNN Bloomberg reports.

According to Kelly, more than two-thirds of small businesses are still dealing with thousands of dollars of pandemic debt. CFIB has advocated for a forgivable repayment deadline extension for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) from this upcoming January to Dec. 31, 2024.

The way the debt forgiveness works is nearly 900,000 businesses that received interest-free loans of up to $60,000 through CEBA at the height of the pandemic will have a third of the loan forgiven if they repay by a specific deadline.

This deadline has been extended before, from the end of 2022 to the end of 2023, before it was finally extended to this upcoming January.

With no further extension on the docket, the deadline to have a portion of the debt forgiven is still Jan. 18, 2024.

This means that as of Thursday, business owners have roughly 56 days left to repay in order to qualify for the debt forgiveness.

Those who can’t meet the January deadline won’t automatically default — they just won’t be eligible to have a portion of their debt forgiven, meaning they’ll have to pay in full.

Are you a small business owner who is concerned about meeting the latest CEBA repayment deadline? CTVNews.ca wants to hear about your situation and how your business may be impacted without another federal extension.

Share your responses by emailing us at dotcom@bellmedia.ca with your name, general location and phone number in case we want to follow up. Your comments may be used in a CTVNews.ca story.

With files from BNN Bloomberg