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The federal government has extended the deadline for small businesses to apply for a Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loan, although it is keeping the eligibility criteria and funding amounts the same.

The CEBA program was launched in the early days of the pandemic, and has proved to be one of the most popular government supports for helping small businesses that are struggling with COVID-19 restrictions and lost revenue.

The loans provide up to $60,000 for eligible small businesses, of which up to one-third is forgivable if the loan is repaid before Dec. 31, 2022.

Loan applications were originally due March 31 through participating banks, but the government announced Monday that businesses now have until June 30 to apply.

The government says more than 850,000 businesses have been approved for the loans, for a total of nearly $45-million.

“Our government is committed to bridging businesses through the pandemic until we are ready for recovery,” Small Business Minister Mary Ng said in a statement.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), which lobbies government on behalf of small businesses, said it welcomed the deadline extension.

However, the group said, the program should be expanded to allow other businesses to apply, especially those which were locked out of the program because they were newly incorporated firms.

The CFIB sent a letter to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland recommending changes to the CEBA program, including the application extension, increasing the maximum loan amount to $80,000 and extending the repayment deadline.

“It is good news that the federal government has extended the CEBA loan deadline as this is one of the few programs that can help relieve some of COVID debt small firms will be facing in the months ahead,” said Dan Kelly, president of CFIB.

“But still, more than a year after the pandemic started, thousands of small firms remain ineligible for CEBA and all of the other support programs.”

Earlier this month, the federal government extended the wage and rent subsidy programs into June. The subsidies were originally set to end in March.

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