Mr. Speaker, in October, I asked the Minister of Industry and the Minister of Small Business why it was okay for Liberals to enrich their friends through Sustainable Development Technology Canada while small businesses are struggling. SDTC was established in 2001 and it operated with few issues under both previous Liberal and Conservative governments until the Prime Minister took office.
Earlier this year, the Auditor General released a damning report that outlined serious governance failures including 186 conflicts and over $400 million in misspent funds. The Auditor General made it clear that this scandal falls squarely on the shoulder of the current Liberal minister, who did not sufficiently monitor the contracts that were given to Liberal insiders. The Liberals' refusal to table documents regarding the green slush fund has effectively paralyzed our Parliament, hindering our ability to do work for which we were elected. This obstruction makes it impossible for us to address pressing issues like Canada's poor economic environment with high business insolvencies, a lack of productivity and high tax burdens.
Indeed, small businesses are struggling more than ever. Business insolvencies were reported at 6,331 for the 12-month period ending August 2024, an increase of 51.6% year over year. More businesses closed than opened in four of the past five months. For example, in July 2024, we had 42,346 closing businesses and only 41,738 opening businesses.
Canada's productivity has been stagnant since 2019, going from bad to worse since the pandemic, while other countries in the OECD have seen economic indicators improving. In key sectors, the combined activity of our agriculture, utilities, manufacturing and construction have fallen from one-third to one-quarter of the Canadian economy from 20 years ago. The construction sector has experienced some of the worst productivity in Canada.
The Bank of Canada's “Monetary Policy Report” in July 2024 reduced its forecast for overall Canadian productivity over the next two years, citing constraints on housing construction coming from structural factors such as the availability of land, zoning restrictions and a lack of skilled labour as the key concerns.
According to the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions, in the third quarter of 2024, half of all businesses reported rising inflation as an expected obstacle over the next three months. The rising cost of inputs was the second-most frequently reported, followed by rising interest rates and debt costs. As well, Canadians are now being taxed higher on their capital gains. Business groups are saying that these changes are unwise at a time of weak productivity. More than half of small business owners believe it will affect the eventual sale of their business and that high capital gains are among the most economically damaging form of taxation because they reduce the incentive to innovate and invest. This will penalize a lifetime of hard work. I might add that Environment and Climate Change Canada's estimates of the cost of the carbon tax in 2030 is that it will cost the inflation-adjusted GDP $25 billion.
Will the government release the green slush fund documents so that Parliament can get back to the important issues of this country?