Chamber wants to see pandemic support loan payment deadline be extended

The deadline for small businesses to pay back their pandemic support loans is coming up at the end of the year and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) wants Ottawa to extend that deadline. The Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce says they agree with the CFIB on this request and would like to see the repayment be extended until the end of December of 2025. 

“One of our concerns is that if some of these businesses fail to meet their current December 31, 2023 deadline, they lose out on the $20,000 forgivable portion of that loan, which then adds even more to their debt load, even more to their the repayments that are going to be necessary. In Lethbridge specifically, 78 per cent of businesses that we surveyed expect their operating expenses to increase this year.”

The CFIB says about 20 per cent of business owners are at risk of shutting their doors if the deadline is not extended.