Nearly 800 small businesses in New Westminster and Burnaby risk closing their doors in the New Year.
With the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loan repayment deadline less than a month away, Canada’s NDP is urging Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Minister for Small Business Rechie Valdez to extend the repayment deadline and loan forgiveness to help local businesses.
Small businesses owners are spending their holidays worrying about how they’ll be able to pay their CEBA loan off, after spending the last two years watching the cost of their rent, supplies and products skyrocket.
They deserve understanding and a break.
New Democrats has tirelessly been calling for the CEBA loan repayment deadline to be pushed back to give people a chance to catch up with high costs — but the Liberals have refused to help our local businesses.
While the Liberals are pushing small businesses to repay their loans, they’re handing out $21.6 billion in contracts to large consulting firm, cutting this spending by just four per cent would cover the costs of extending the CEBA deadline.
The NDP says instead of delivering relief for small businesses that risk going under without an extension on their CEBA loan, the Liberals are giving a pass to massive ultra-rich corporations.
For months, the Canadian Federation of Small Businesses (CFIB), local businesses in my riding, Burnaby Board of Trade, New Westminster Chamber of Commerce, Canada’s NDP and every premier from across the country have called for a year-long CEBA extension to keep businesses afloat.
The Liberals have refused, while Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives have been silent.
At a time when British Columbians expect the government to be understanding, instead what the Liberals are showing is just how out-of-touch they are.
Justin Trudeau keeps refusing to extend CEBA, but then turns around and finds money for ultra-rich consulting firms.
On the other side, there’s Pierre Poilievre and his corporate-controlled Conservatives, who are ignoring small businesses pleads for help — but if rich corporations needed something, Poilievre and the Conservatives would do everything in their power to get them more handouts.
Our community deserves better.
There should be a full, year-long extension of the CEBA repayment deadline, with the loan forgiveness intact before the New Year.
