The Canadian Federation for Independent Business says small businesses need more time to repay their loans taken out during the pandemic.

The Canada Emergency Business Account was rolled out during the pandemic to help businesses survive the mass shutdown. Businesses only have five months left to repay their loan to receive a $20,000 forgivable portion, meaning they will have to pay the entire amount at a five per cent interest rate.

Policy analyst with the federation, Duncan Robertson, says the federation is calling for an extension to that deadline.

He says given the current state of the economy, they are asking for small businesses to get a little more runway. They are calling for the deadline to move to 2025, and the forgivable portion to increase by 50 per cent.