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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 249

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 8, 2023 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 249 - Nov/8/23
Mr. Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, GP)
  • Nov/8/23 7:03:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am back again tonight, this being my last opportunity to continue pressing on the need to extend a critical loan deadline for small businesses before we expect the fall economic statement later this month. Here is what has brought us to this point. In the pandemic, small businesses did what we asked of them by closing their doors to slow the spread of COVID-19. The federal government then rolled out a really important program to help them, the Canada emergency business account loans, or CEBA loans for short. These were interest-free loans of up to $40,000 for small businesses and non-profits. It was later increased to $60,000. The most important part though is that up to 33% of the loan was forgivable, meaning it was a grant, if the small business paid the rest back by December 31 of this year. Here is what small businesses in my community had to say about how critical the program was. Graeme Kobayashi, from Counterpoint Brewing Company, said, “We were operating very successfully prior to the pandemic, however, we're also a very new business and were able to amass only a small amount of savings when COVID arrived and the lasting conditions of COVID lockdowns ate away at them relatively quickly. The CEBA loan was a lifeline for our business.” He said that, without it, they would not be here today. Ian McMullan from McMullan's Canadian Pub & Pizzeria said that the CEBA loan was a significant source of help for his business to get through the pandemic. Without it, it would have been in the red on multiple occasions. The CEBA loan was absolutely essential to its survival as a business. These are small businesses that were operating profitably before the pandemic, did the right thing by closing during the pandemic, unlike big box stores, and now they are disproportionately experiencing lasting impacts of longer-than-expected pandemic lockdowns. It is why this past summer more than 250 local and provincial chambers of commerce, including the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, and national business organizations including the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Better Way Alliance and Restaurants Canada called for an extension on the time small businesses would have to pay back the full loan and still qualify for the grant portion. I met with small businesses in my community this past summer. I heard their concerns, wrote to both of the ministers responsible and met with the Minister of Small Business this past summer to convey these concerns. All of which is why I was so disappointed in September when the Prime Minister announced a mere 18-day extension to repay without having the grant portion of this program turn into another loan. I then brought it up in question period during Small Business Week, and I do not feel like I received a real answer to the question. It is why I am back here again this evening. Here is what CFIB has found about the changes the Prime Minister announced in September. It found that the majority of business owners, or 82%, did not find the changes to the CEBA repayment schedule helpful, and more than half of them question whether they will be able to stay in business if they lose the forgivable portion. It is obvious the federal government has not listened to small businesses after small businesses. They stepped up for us, and businesses in my community are frustrated. Sam Nabi, from Full Circle Foods, says, “As independent business owners trying to do the right thing, we often take on a lot of personal responsibility. And yet, I can’t help but feel frustrated at federal grants given to massively profitable national grocery chains with no strings attached, while independent small businesses in our neighbourhood have to shut their doors.” Carolann Mackie from the Frugal Decorator is saying that she is frankly very worried about the expectation to pay back the CEBA loan. The nearing date continues to leave her in a very difficult financial position. My question to the parliamentary secretary is whether he is going to—
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Context: House Hansard - 249 - Nov/8/23
Mr. Bryan May (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business and to the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, Lib.)
  • Nov/8/23 7:07:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am happy to respond to the comments made by the hon. member for Kitchener Centre regarding supports for small businesses and the Canada emergency business account payment deadline and loan forgiveness. Since the beginning of the COVID–19 pandemic, the government has been there to provide unprecedented support to Canada's small businesses across the country. That is why, at the onset of the pandemic, we launched the Canada emergency business account program. This is in addition to critical and much-needed supports like the rent and wage subsidies, which were put in place to assist small businesses. CEBA provided $49 billion in support to nearly 900,000 businesses across the country. The program offered interest-free partial forgivable loans up to $60,000 to eligible small businesses. It kept their lights on and helped workers remain employed. Early last year, to help business owners as they continue to recover from the pandemic, the government announced that the CEBA repayment deadline for partial forgiveness would be extended by one year. The government understands that the current global economic environment is having a major impact on entrepreneurs and Canadians. We recently announced several changes to the CEBA program aimed at supporting economic recovery. Recognizing the challenges that small businesses continue to face in the current economic context, we have yet again extended the deadline for partial forgiveness to January 2024 and have extended the CEBA term loans by one year, to December 31, 2026, to offer businesses more time for their loan repayments. Small businesses asked for more flexibility and the government listened. It is also supporting small businesses by cutting credit card transaction fees and reducing the small business tax rate from 11% to 9%. We have enhanced the Canada small business financing program by increasing annual financing to small businesses by an estimated $560 million annually through the introduction of a working line of capital to help businesses access liquidity for start-up costs and intangible assets. For businesses looking to bring their offerings to the digital marketplace, the Canada digital adoption program has supported enterprises of all sizes to digitize and reach more markets. Moreover, we are ensuring that all entrepreneurs have the opportunities they deserve. That is why we launched the historic women entrepreneurship strategy, the Black entrepreneurship program, the 2SLGBTQI+ entrepreneurship program and targeted supports for indigenous entrepreneurs. The government is focusing on growing our economy and building a stronger, more resilient Canada for everyone. We will continue to support Canadian businesses throughout this recovery process, because, quite frankly, that is common sense.
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