M-99 Extension of the Canada Emergency Benefit Account loan forgiveness deadline

That:

(a) the House recognize that,

(i) local businesses continue to struggle in the face of inflation, interest rates and staffing challenges,

(ii) Canada Emergency Benefit Account loans provided small business with vital assistance at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but now those businesses need more time to repay pandemic-related debt and they shouldn’t be forced to forgo the federal government’s $20,000 loan forgiveness offer as a result,

(iii) without a significant extension of the Canada Emergency Benefit Account loan forgiveness deadline, more than 250,000 Canadian businesses will be in jeopardy and nearly 47 percent of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses’ members in British Columbia are at risk of having to close their doors,

(iv) the federal government’s current 18-day extension offer is grossly insufficient; and

(b) in the opinion of the House, the government should extend the Canada Emergency Benefit Account loan forgiveness deadline until the end of 2024 to give small businesses who are struggling with high costs a needed break.