Downtown Halifax Business Commission (DHBC) represents the collective voice for its members when speaking with government, media, and other stakeholders. 

Current Advocacy Topics

Update on CEBA Loan Extension

November 28, 2023

Many Downtown Halifax businesses took the Federal government’s CEBA loan during the pandemic. This was an excellent program, which helped many businesses survive. However, the repayment deadline is now looming. Downtown Halifax Business Commission has joined with other business advocacy groups to call on the Federal government to extend the loan repayment period another year. However, the Federal Fall Economic Statement was released last week, and it did not include action on the CEBA forgivable deadline. This was one of the last major opportunities to change gears before the January 18th deadline. We wish to share the following repayment info from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB):

1. Prepare to repay on/before January 18th if you possibly can. At this stage, a further extension is unlikely.
    
2. If you are looking to borrow to repay your CEBA loan, ensure you have documentation of your application before January 18th to qualify for a special extension to March 28, 2024. The government has created a special provision for businesses that make a refinancing application with a financial institution that provided their CEBA loan by January 18th, 2024. The repayment deadline to qualify for partial loan forgiveness now includes a refinancing extension until March 28, 2024. Clarification is needed as to what will be accepted as proof for this extension.
    
3. If you don’t have the capacity to repay or borrow to repay your loan, consider how you will repay the large amount over the next 3 years (to the end of 2026) subject to interest of 5% per annum. In addition, businesses will only be required to pay monthly interest payments and can pay the principal amount just before the term loan repayment deadline of December 21st, 2026.

State of the Downtown Report
 
In June 2023, DHBC released our first 'State of Downtown' report. This report now gives us a reference point each year when reporting this type of data. The goal always being to paint a clear, fact-based picture of Downtown Halifax, allowing us to chart a new vision, and ensuring that we remain Canada’s Favourite Downtown.

Click here for DHBC's State of the Downtown report.
 

Memberships

Downtowns Atlantic Canada (DAC)
International Downtowns Association (IDA)