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Canada’s premiers are asking the federal government to extend the repayment period by a year for interest-free loans given to small businesses and non-profits at the height of the COVID-19-pandemic.
The premiers, including Manitoba’s newly sworn in Wab Kinew, outlined their concerns in a Friday letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The federal government’s Canada Emergency Business Account offered interest-free loans of up to $60,000 to small businesses. The repayment deadline for CEBA loans to qualify for partial loan forgiveness is Jan. 18, 2024.
But the premiers wrote that just as Canada’s small businesses are starting to find their feet, they are facing new cost pressures from rising inflation and interest rates.
“Compounding these challenges, many small businesses are anxious about their ability to pay back their federal Canada Emergency Business Account loan when the forgiveness repayment period ends in the new year,” the letter says.
The premiers said the loan that was once a lifeline during the pandemic “is now threatening to sink the small businesses that are only just getting by.”
As a result, the provincial and territorial leaders call for additional time to allow businesses to take advantage of the loan-forgiveness option in addition to extending repayment of CEBA loans for another year.
“During this time of uncertainty, now is not the time to force additional costs on small businesses.”
The emergency business program approved $49.2-billion in loans to small businesses and not-for-profits.
The letter follows the recent request by premiers Doug Ford of Ontario and Andrew Furey of Newfoundland and Labrador, that the Bank of Canada consider the human impact of further rate increases, and the potential for additional increases to drive up housing costs.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
Trudeau acknowledges divisions in caucus, won’t repeat Canadian envoy’s call to destroy Hamas - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged divisions over the Israel-Hamas war within his own governing party Friday as he refused to repeat calls by one of his own ambassadors that the militant group should be destroyed.
Bank of Canada likely done raising rates, to cut by mid-2024, say economists - The Bank of Canada is probably done raising interest rates and will hold them at 5 per cent for at least six months, according to a Reuters poll of economists that found a majority expecting a reduction in the second quarter of 2024 as the economy slows.
Majority of Canadian diplomats leave India after ultimatum from New Delhi - Canada is significantly scaling back its diplomatic presence in India in response to a threat from New Delhi to strip dozens of Canadian representatives of their diplomatic immunity, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced Thursday.
Higgs says he’s holding off on inflation relief in case of election - New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs says he is holding off on cost-of-living relief for New Brunswickers in case he needs to announce those measures in a possible election campaign.
Saskatchewan legislature passes pronoun bill in special sitting - A controversial bill on the use of pronouns in schools has received final approval in the Saskatchewan legislature. Story here.
Pierre Poilievre urges Chrystia Freeland to reject proposed RBC takeover of HSBC Canada - Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for the federal government to reject Royal Bank of Canada’s proposed takeover of HSBC Bank Canada, saying the deal would reduce banking competition at a time when homeowners are struggling with high borrowing costs.
Globe and Mail reporter wins Amnesty International award - The Globe and Mail’s Janice Dickson has been awarded this year’s Amnesty International Canada Media Award in the national written news category for a story on a Hazara Afghani family who were attacked while waiting for help from Canada.
THIS AND THAT
Today in the Commons - Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, Oct. 20, accessible here.
In Ottawa - Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is playing host to Margus Tsahkna, Estonia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, during a visit to Ottawa. Canada opened an embassy in Estonia in July.
Ministers on the Road - Defence Minister Bill Blair, in North Bay, Ont., visited 22 Wing/Canadian Forces Base North Bay to mark the completion of the base’s new health-services centre.. Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault, in Edmonton, announced $1.8-million to support projects that have a positive impact on francophone communities across the Prairies. Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada and Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, in the southern Quebec city of Bromont, outline an investment by the Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions organization for the Stûv America fireplace retailer as well as for L’Atelier Märk Lumber. They also announced support, in Sherbrooke for cabinet maker Cuisine Idéale Sherbrooke. Health Minister Mark Holland, in Toronto, announced research funding to improve health care through integrated care policies and practices. Fisheries, Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard Minister Diane Lebouthillier, in Gaspé, Que., announced investments under the National Shipbuilding Strategy.
Hedy Fry Day - After learning that Vancouver City Council had declared Oct. 25 as Hedy Fry Day, the veteran Liberal MP says she got a call from her son, Pete, who sits on council as a member of the Green Party. “He said, `I want you to know I had nothing to do with this. I actually recused myself from everything to do with it.’ ” Still, Fry said Friday that it’s quite an honour. The city is marking the 30th anniversary of the election of the MP for Vancouver Centre. Maria Veras, press secretary for the office of Mayor Ken Sim, said in a statement that Mr. Sim felt it appropriate to honour Fry as the longest-serving female MP in Canadian history. Friends of Fry are also holding a party for her on Saturday, with any excess after expenses going to charity.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in the Toronto area, visited a local housing development, accompanied by Diversity Minister Kamal Khera and Housing Minister Sean Fraser, and made a housing announcement.
LEADERS
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, in her Vancouver-Island riding, participated virtually in the Commons.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Iqaluit, with NDP Nunavut MP Lori Idlout met with Premier P.J. Akeeagok and other MLAs of the Nunavut Legislative Assembly, then held a media availability.
No schedule provided for other party leaders.
THE DECIBEL
Friday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast features Ann Hui, The Globe’s demographics reporter and former food reporter, talking about the new frontier of how AI is being used by some companies to create new kinds of food, recipes and combinations that the human brain hasn’t conceived of before. The Decibel is here.
NEWSLETTER BOOKS - Indictment: The Criminal Justice System on Trial by Benjamin Perrin. Published by Aevo UTP, an imprint of University of Toronto Press.
Law professor Benjamin Perrin’s new book includes an apology for advising former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper on justice issues.
Perrin writes that he effectively perpetuated the criminal justice system and supported “tough-on-crime” laws and policies.
Indictment is part of his response. “These laws disproportionately impacted marginalized communities – without making Canadians any safer.” In the book’s pages, the University of British Columbia law professor offers a new approach to criminal justice. It includes restorative justice opportunities; expanding and improving community-based alternatives to incarceration that would support rehabilitation and housing; and also establishing 24/7 non-police mobile crisis teams. Author royalties from the book are going to a pair of charitable organizations profiled in the text.
Perrin responded to questions from the Politics Newsletter.
How long have you thinking about this book, and what led you to write it?
Indictment started with a 7-8 page handwritten letter I received in 2018 from an Indigenous man being incarcerated. It was a haunting letter where he shared his experience behind bars. One line stood out in particular: “If you want to turn a man into an animal, put him in a cage without the resources to build himself back up.”
At the same time, Justice Canada included me in a public consultation asking, among other things, “If you could design a new criminal justice system from scratch, what would it look like?” This provocative question along with the jailhouse dispatch I’d received were the spark for this project.
How do the politics of dealing with crime work against substantive justice reform?
Politics is the single biggest barrier to a compassionate, evidence-based approach to criminal justice. We’ve already seen some elections in Canada recently where “tough-on-crime” candidates (like in Vancouver) have won on promises to hire more police officers, for example, even though there’s no evidence that will reduce rising crime rates. However, other cities (like Toronto and Chicago) have rejected this temptation and voted for mayoral candidates who promised instead to tackle root causes.
“Tough-on-crime” policies are costly and ineffective. They don’t actually make us safer, but many voters go for it since it’s an easy narrative. Advocates for a compassionate, evidence-based approach have their work cut out for them. Some of that work is in public awareness, education, political mobilization and in the courts via litigation. Much of the Harper-era “tough-on-crime” measures were dismantled by the courts in the end.
You apologize for work as an adviser to former prime minister Stephen Harper. Have you ever thought of speaking to Mr. Harper about your concerns?
I think it’s really important to acknowledge how wrong I was to support “tough-on-crime” measures. I’m responsible for the advice that I gave – and didn’t give. A prime minister is responsible for his or her decisions. Each of us has to do our own soul-searching in the wake of those decisions.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on Parliament rushing through a bad law that could curdle future free-trade talks: “A bill that would make it illegal to negotiate an increase in foreign access to Canada’s supply-managed farm sector in trade talks has made it to second reading in the Senate. A small number of voices have loudly spoken up about how this shortsighted and politically motivated bill is a threat to the country’s future. Two brave Liberals MPs voted against it, as did a sizable rump of Conservative MPs from the West. But it passed on third reading in the House of Commons by a 262-51 vote, and its time in the Senate has been just as frictionless.”
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail) on a universal national public drug plan? In this economy?: “A universal, single-payer plan, the NDP has announced, is now the “red line” for its continued participation in the supply-and-confidence agreement that has assured the Liberals of their hold on power for the past two years. That doesn’t necessarily mean the government would fall: The NDP could pull out of the deal and still find excuses to avoid defeating the government. The Liberals could govern as all previous minority governments in this country have, at least federally: from bill to bill, with the support of whichever party they can persuade to back them each time. But it would certainly increase the odds of an early election.”
Rita Trichur (The Globe and Mail) on why the federal government is picking on banks? “Move over telecoms. Banks are the federal government’s new punching bag. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland took aim at financial institutions again this week when she announced a flurry of policy changes, ostensibly to help Canadians contend with higher interest rates. The problem isn’t the new mortgage guidelines on accommodating cash-strapped homeowners who are struggling to make loan payments. Those recommendations are clearly intended to minimize risk to the financial system. Let’s also set aside Ottawa’s designation of a sole banking ombudsman (even though it’s another half-measure to provide recourse for aggrieved consumers). Rather, the trouble lies with the government’s war on banking fees.”
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