A pandemic loan relief program for small business owners has paid more than $2 billion to borrowers who never qualified for it in the first place, federal records show.
The amount was disclosed as a result of a request by Conservative MP Brad Vis, who represents the riding of Mission-Matsqui in B.C., according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
The MP had asked for the dollar amount of Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) funds “that were initially provided to businesses that were later deemed ineligible.”
Cabinet, in an Inquiry of Ministry tabled in the House of Commons, put the figure at $2,047,682,710.
The CEBA program was open for applications from April 9, 2020, till end June in 2021. By last January, it had provided over $49 billion to nearly 900,000 Canadian businesses, according to Department of Finance Canada….