Hard-hit Canadian oil companies still waiting for EDC loans
(Reuters, Winnipeg/Toronto, 4 June 2020) Canadian oil producers sideswiped by economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic have received no federal loans from EDC, seven weeks after the first lending program was announced, government and industry officials said on Thursday. The large-employer program started accepting applications on May 20 and has not approved any yet, confirmed Maeva Proteau, spokeswoman for Finance Minister Bill Morneau. Liquidity for smaller energy companies via Canada’s export credit agency, Export Development Canada (EDC), will begin flowing within weeks, she said. EDC said in April it would backstop up to 75% of a reserve-based bank loan, to a maximum of C$100 million, for at least one year.
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