The recent debt level survey we carried out alongside our provincial and territorial counterparts shows more than half of our businesses in Canada are worried about keeping their doors open and the lights on over the next three years. This is why we are pushing for greater government intervention by extending the CEBA repayment deadline. The fact that more than 250 other industry association partners signed onto the coalition that presented the letter is a testament to the importance the government should place on this issue.

Specifically, 45 per cent of Canada's tourism businesses reported that they are likely or somewhat likely to close within the next three years, without government intervention into their mounting debt load. The survey found that 55 per cent of tourism sector businesses who NANOS Research spoke to say they are somewhat not or not confident that their company will be able to make debt payments (principal and interest) that are due over the next two years. This includes loans through the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA), the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) and the Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP).

Right now, an overwhelming number of tourism businesses say they face tremendous financial pressures due to mounting debt, from both the government and private loans that allowed them to stay afloat during the pandemic. New operating costs and labour shortages are compounding factors.

Based on these findings, TIAC and its provincial and territorial partners are calling on the federal government to help address this important issue by:

• Extending the zero-interest repayment deadline for the CEBA loan to December 31, 2025;
• Increasing the forgivable portion of the CEBA loan to $30,000 (or 50 per cent) if fully repaid before December 31, 2024, and maintaining the current forgivable portion of $20,000 (or 33.3 per cent) if fully repaid by December 31, 2025; and,
• Modifying the RRRF and HASCAP loans in a similar fashion to allow more time and flexibility in repayment terms

The work TIAC is doing in conjunction with the CEBA coalition is vitally important. We need to continue talking to politicians and showing them the hardships and jobs connected to the tourism industry. These are our neighbours, people in our community, our friends, our family. These are not just major corporations, these are small businesses, and all we are asking for is more time.

Click here to see the statistics and view the full report.