QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Canada Emergency Business Account
December 2, 2020
Honourable senators, my question is also for the government leader, and it concerns the government’s promise to expand the Canada Emergency Business Account loans. On October 9, the government announced small businesses would be able to access an extra $20,000 in loans, half of which would be forgivable if repaid by the end of 2022. This proposal was announced on the same day as the commercial rent program changes and the wage subsidy extension, which were both in Bill C-9.
Despite promising that a launch date and application process would be provided in the coming days, it was not until Monday’s economic statement that small businesses learned they would be able to apply for the top-up at some point in December.
Leader, would you tell us why, the CEBA top-up loan, that was announced with the other two programs, was excluded from Bill C-9? Why were there such delays in rolling out the program? It said sometime in December, but do you have an exact date to give small-business owners some assurance that this indeed will be happening? As you recall, Minister Morneau tweeted the day before another program was to start that there were delays. So would you give us assurance of a date for these top-up loans?
I thank the honourable senator for the question. I do understand the importance of these programs to small businesses across Canada. I was a small-business owner in an earlier life as well. Many of my friends have benefited from the support and look forward to continuing support.
I cannot give you a precise date because I don’t know that. This chamber has gotten very used to programs being rolled out rather quickly. The truth is, as experienced parliamentarians know, good programs normally, outside crisis times, take longer to develop. I’m sure that the government is working diligently to provide the support to small businesses upon which our economy depends.
Thank you. I appreciate the importance of being very thorough, but we have waited; the delays have been evident. But there were mistakes even with the delays. All these small businesses deserve our support. I also want to know why owners of new businesses that don’t meet the criteria for federal support still have no access to wage subsidy or the commercial rent support, despite the fact that many of them are currently under lockdown restrictions through no fault of their own.
Leader, why are these new small businesses not deserving of support in the economic statement that was announced by the minister?
Thank you for your question. As we become increasingly aware, there is no perfect way to provide the kind of support that this government has provided with the help of all parties in the other place and in this chamber without lessons being learned. These are lessons that we need to learn to make sure that any gaps that emerge can be addressed. Indeed, the government remains committed and has demonstrated by its actions that it is responsive to input from stakeholders and businesses and that, in fact, is exemplified in the adjustments to the programs that we have debated in this chamber. They will continue to be responsive to those legitimate concerns of Canadians and Canadian businesses.
