But the deadline to repay this loan is approaching. And today, the owner of the Roseville store, in Quebec, does not know how she will be able to do it.
“When I think about it, I get stressed,” Ms. Desmeules told Noovo Info on Monday. “I have a meeting with the banker to see what I should do.”
The entrepreneur indicates that due to the increase in mortgage rates and the price of groceries, customers are not there.
“Sales are not what we expected. This summer was difficult,” she lamented.
Bloc Québécois MPs from the Capitale-Nationale, Julie Vignola and Caroline Desbiens, are therefore asking the Trudeau government to give businesses an additional year to repay the emergency sums lent during the pandemic. They warn that if Ottawa does not reverse its decision, the economic and social consequences will be catastrophic.
“Repaying $40,000 in three weeks is just not possible,” said Ms. Vignola in an interview with Noovo Info.
According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), 220,000 businesses are at risk of bankruptcy. 83% of them still owe an amount and 70% have not yet repaid anything.
“This support was to help businesses during the pandemic,” said Ms. Desbiens. “It’s creating the opposite, therefore closing them.”
The president of the Île d’Orléans Chamber of Commerce, Marc-André Bouchard, emphasizes that many producers in the region are currently experiencing “their worst financial year.”
For his part, the owner of the Petits hollows restaurant, Kim Colonna, says he agrees with the postponement, but believes that entrepreneurs knew they had to repay this amount.
“Maybe some people shouldn’t have a business. It’s like a loan. We knew from the start that we had to repay it,” he said.
See Mathieu Boivin’s report in the video.
2023-11-27 23:50:58
#VIDEO #Pandemic #loan #repayment #stressed #worries #trader
