441-01706 (Business and trade)

The Government of Canada thanks the petitioners for expressing their views about the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA), and the impact the fire in Lytton has had on Lytton businesses.

The government launched the CEBA program to provide timely support to small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and help support the jobs these businesses provide. The program provided nearly 900,000 small businesses with interest-free, partially forgivable loans of up to $60,000 to cover non-deferrable operating expenses. From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Export Development Canada (EDC), federal government partners and more than 230 Canadian financial institutions worked together to provide support to both exporting and non-exporting companies. This vital support helped small businesses make it through an unprecedented period of time.

To further help small businesses, the government has recently extended the flexibilities for CEBA and Regional Relief and Recovery Fund. On September 14, 2023, the government announced further extensions to CEBA repayment and loan forgiveness:

• The repayment deadline to receive forgiveness (of up to $20,000) for all CEBA loans was extended to January 18, 2024 (previously extended from December 31, 2022, to December 31, 2023). 
• The repayment deadline to qualify for partial loan forgiveness now includes a refinancing extension until March 28, 2024. 
• As of January 19, 2024, outstanding loans, including those that are captured by the refinancing extension, will convert to three-year term loans, subject to interest of five percent per annum, with the term loan repayment date extended by an additional year from December 31, 2025, to December 31, 2026. This will provide those who are unable to secure refinancing or generate enough cashflow to repay their loans by the forgiveness deadline an additional year to continue repayment at a low borrowing cost.

Export Development Canada is the administrator of the CEBA program on behalf of the Government of Canada and is working with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to put in place systems to collect loans that remain outstanding after December 31, 2026. For those that cannot repay by the deadline, the CRA will work with each business to determine its ability to repay, emphasizing fairness, empathy, and putting people first.

The Government of Canada recognizes the importance of helping the people of Lytton rebuild. Pacific Economic Development Canada is offering two new programs to support the rebuilding of Lytton:

• $6 million for the Lytton Homeowner Resilient Rebuild program to support eligible Lytton homeowners who wish to rebuild their home to fire-resilient or fire-resilient and Net Zero standards; and
• $7.2 million to create the Lytton Business Restart program to help small- and medium-sized businesses re-establish in the community. This funding will include support for Indigenous businesses and those operated by women, youth, and other underrepresented groups. Application details and launch date coming soon.

The Government of Canada remains committed to supporting Canadians and Canadian businesses and is focusing on growing our economy and building a stronger, more resilient Canada for everyone.