CEBA REPAYMENT & PARTIAL LOAN FORGIVENESS DEADLINES EXTENDED
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Last month, as part of our ongoing advocacy work on your behalf, we shared that CAEM – along with the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) and over 200 chambers of commerce, tourism organizations and industry groups – sent a letter to the Minister of Finance outlining that our industry has not yet returned to ‘business as usual' and one way to help our sector would be to extend the Canadian Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loan repayment deadline to December 31, 2025. You can read CAEM's letter here.
We also asked you to help amplify the message by sending a letter to your MP which would be copied to the Ministers of Finance, Tourism and Small Business. Details here. Thank you so much to all of you who took action and sent a letter.
On September 14, the Prime Minister announced extended deadlines for CEBA loan repayments. While the measures announced fall short of our requests, they do provide some relief. Through CAEM's work with TIAC and their partners this is yet another example that there is power in numbers. The relationships CAEM has built over the last 3 years have proved invaluable and we will continue to foster them and work to elevate the specific issues the trade and consumer show industry faces.
TIAC is in contact with the Minister of Tourism's office to work through next steps and alternative support. We will keep you updated as the efforts progress.
A brief overview of the new CEBA repayment terms are provided below. More details can be found here.
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- The repayment deadline for CEBA loans to qualify for partial loan forgiveness of up to 33% is being extended from December 31, 2023 to January 18, 2024.
- For CEBA loan holders who make a refinancing application with the financial institution that provided their CEBA loans by January 18, 2024, the repayment deadline to qualify for partial loan forgiveness now includes a refinancing extension until March 28, 2024.
- CEBA loan holders must have started the refinancing process with the lending financial institution by January 18, 2024, or those businesses are immediately subject to three-year term loans at 5% interest.
- CEBA loan holders can still achieve the forgivable portion (up to $10,000 or $20,000 depending on the principal amount of the loan), if the loan refinancing process begins by January 18, 2024, and the loan is paid back in full by March 28, 2024.
- Businesses who refinance but do not pay back the loan in full by March 28, 2024, will still receive the preferrable 5% annual interest rate on the loan, which must be paid back in full by December 31, 2026 (the original repayment date was December 31, 2025). This scenario means loan holders who remain in repayment after March 28, 2024, will not be eligible for the forgivable amount.
- Loans not fully repaid by March 28, 2024 will incur interest at 5% for a three-year period. Loan holders may have the option of making monthly payments equal to the interest portion during this period with the balance of the principal amount, coming due on December 31, 2026.
- The above changes to the CEBA program also apply to the CEBA-equivalent lending through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF).
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