CP NewsAlert: Premiers ask Ottawa for COVID-19 small business loan extension

By The Canadian Press on October 20, 2023.

Canada's premiers have sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asking the federal government to extend the Jan. 18, 2024 repayment period for one more year for interest-free loans to small businesses and not-for-profits. Canadaâ€™s premiers P.J. Akeeagok, Premier of Nunavut, from left, Caroline Cochrane, Premier of the Northwest Territories, Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta, Dennis King, Premier of Prince Edward Island, Tim Houston, Vice-Chair of the Council of the Federation and Premier of Nova Scotia, Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, Heather Stefanson, Chair of the Council of the Federation and Premier of Manitoba, FrancÌ§ois Legault, Premier of QueÌbec, Blaine Higgs, Premier of New Brunswick, David Eby, Premier of British Columbia, Scott Moe, Premier of Saskatchewan, Andrew Furey, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Ranj Pillai, Premier of Yukon, during the closing news conference at the Council of the Federation Canadian premiers meeting at The Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg, Wednesday, July 12, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

VICTORIA – Canada’s premiers have sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asking the federal government to extend the repayment period for a year for interest-free loans to small businesses and non-profits given during the pandemic.

The federal government’s Canada Emergency Business Account offered interest-free loans of up to $60,000 to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

B.C. Premier David Eby says in a letter to the prime minister that small businesses, like most other Canadians, are feeling squeezed by the rising cost of housing, groceries and other daily essentials, and just when they are starting to recover after the pandemic they are facing rising inflation and interest rates.

More coming.

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