By Canadian Press

Pandemic business loan program lacked ‘value for money’: auditor general

Dec 2, 2024 | 1:15 PM

OTTAWA — The auditor general says the small business loan program the federal government rolled out during the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t managed in a cost-effective way.

Auditor general Karen Hogan says the Canada Emergency Business Account program wasn’t managed with “due regard for value for money.”

The program lent 898,000 small businesses $49.1 billion to help cover expenses such as rent and payroll during the pandemic.

The report estimates $3.5 billion of that went to recipients that were ineligible.

The auditor general says Export Development Canada, which was responsible for the program, acted quickly to get the loans out.

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But the report says the Crown corporation relied on sole-source contracts and a single vendor without strong checks and balances.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2024.

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press