MP Taylor Bachrach Once Again Calls for Delay to Covid Small Business Loan Repayments Amid Rising Interest Rates

With interest rates in Canada now at their highest point since 2001, the pressure on small businesses has never been higher.

Interests rates rose by 5 percent yesterday, adding another obstacle for businesses still struggling to regain their pre-pandemic footing.

But, despite the rise, the Government still expects businesses to pay back their pandemic-era loans by the end of the year.

Last month, Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach stood in the House to ask for a delay in Canada Emergency Business Account repayments.

Bachrach and fellow MP Richard Cannings have now penned a second letter requesting the deadline be pushed to the end of 2024.

To date, only 10 percent of recipients have fully repaid their loans, with 47 percent in BC at risk of collapsing, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses.