Thank you for your question.
Our government understands the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises, which are central to our economy and our communities. That's we why we were so proud to be able to support them by means of a $49 billion program. It was significant and essential support. In fact, over 80% of businesses paid back their loans. I would therefore like to thank all of those that did so. It amounted to $20,000 of interest-free support from Canada's federal government. Once again, it made a difference. They deserved it and it helped thousands of companies across the country survive the pandemic.
The good news now is that those companies that had trouble paying back their loans still have a loan from the federal government, at an interest rate of only 5%, which is very low compared to loans from private commercial institutions. Small and medium-sized enterprises don't have to repay their federal government loan until the end of 2026. That gives them more time. All they need to pay for the time being is the interest, which is very low, particularly compared to loans from private lenders.