Karen Mersereau, co-owner of Hotel Paulin in Caraquet, says she doesn't know how she will manage to pay back her loan. "What's going to happen is a lot of small businesses are going to close down and they may not reopen." According to the Canadian Federation Of Independent Business, there were about 12,000 businesses in New Brunswick that took loans, adding up to $648 million. gives a lot of credit to the federal government for moving quickly to offer the CEBA to businesses. Frederic Gionet with the Canadian Federation Of Independent Business says sectors such as hospitality, tourism and restaurants were some of the hardest hit.

Source: CBC News December 17, 2023 15:08 UTC