Mr. Speaker, in December, I asked the Minister of Jobs and Families why the Prime Minister was increasing industrial carbon taxes during a cost of living crisis. These costs do not stay with large emitters, but are passed down the supply chains, raising the price of groceries and transportation, and stunting economic growth. Lower fuel costs would reduce the price of shipping, building materials and essentials, making life more affordable for Canadians who are already pinching their pennies.
That is why this week the government listened to the Conservatives. However, its plan only delivers a third of the relief Conservatives propose for a third of the year. Eliminating federal taxes would also ease pressures for small businesses operating on already thin margins. The industrial carbon tax disproportionately targets energy-intensive sectors that small businesses rely on, such as fuels for shipping and electricity for day-to-day operations. According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, nearly two-thirds of small businesses report that they are absorbing additional fuel costs. A third have increased their prices as a result.
Taxes and regulatory burden remain among the top pressures facing small businesses in Canada today. We are already seeing the consequences. Business closures are up 19% since 2019. Small business employment dropped by 34,000 jobs in March alone. Employment declined across every region in the country. Fifty-five per cent of small businesses would not recommend starting a business in Canada's environment today.
While the government has temporarily suspended the federal excise tax on gas and diesel this week, it has doubled down on the clean fuel standards and the industrial carbon tax, which is set to increase to $170 per tonne by 2030. It is subjecting our economy and Canadians to a death by a thousand cuts. Even the Parliamentary Budget Officer has noted that Canada's emissions reductions will have a limited impact globally, yet Canadian businesses are bearing disproportionately high costs. Temporary relief does nothing to offset permanent structural cost increases, causing our economy to hemorrhage jobs and investments and not address the affordability crisis.
The situation, unfortunately, is projected to get worse. A study by the Fraser Institute estimates that increasing the industrial carbon price to $170 per tonne by 2030 will lead to a 1.3% reduction in our GDP nationally, reduce average incomes by $1,160 per worker and cost Canada 50,000 jobs. The report is clear. Reduced returns on investment will lead to cancelled or delayed business expansion, less capital investment and ultimately lower long-term living standards for Canadians.
Over the last decade, Canada has already lost 1,000 entrepreneurs, while our population has gone up by 10 million people. When Canadian firms face higher input costs due to carbon pricing, investment flows elsewhere. The Business Council of Canada has warned that investment is increasingly being redirected to the U.S. due to more competitive policy frameworks. For small businesses, that means fewer contracts, fewer supply chains, less growth and fewer jobs. I have been contacted by businesses from B.C. and across Canada that cannot afford to keep their doors open due to mounting financial pressures that are not just international in nature but from Canada as well. The Hub recently reported that Canadians are opening more businesses in the U.S. than at home because we have no regulatory framework to protect entrepreneurs.
The government's policies have made it impossible to meet its own economic objectives. Why is it making it harder to do business in Canada? Will it finally scrap these policies before more jobs and investment leave our great country?