Madam Speaker, today I'd like to talk about the business community in the NWT. Over the course of the pandemic, every sector of our economy was adversely impacted by some level because of the interruptions the pandemic had on our daily lives.

Early on in 2020, all nonessential businesses had to shut down entirely and continued doing so periodically into 2021. Those actions have had a serious and long-lasting impact on the business communities, and some businesses have since shut down altogether while others are still trying to recover and remain afloat despite all the costs they had to incur during that time.

Madam Speaker, among the issues that the businesses have had to deal with is the rising cost of commercial insurance. For example, I'm aware of at least one NWT business whose yearly commercial insurance costs have increased from $17,000 to $43,000 a year over the course of one year. That business was also forced to find a new insurance company from southern Canada because the NWT company they used previously refused to cover them anymore. These are considerable sums of money for any business to incur but especially for small and medium-sized businesses. How businesses are expected to cover these types of costs and remain open in the long-term is beyond me. This is very concerning and something needs to be done to address this.

Moreover, Madam Speaker, the rising cost of inflation and the cost of living are also causing hardships for the business community. For example, rising fuel costs are increasing the cost for shipping and the transportation of goods. The price of building materials are also going up, which is increasing the cost of all construction projects. All these costs are putting more pressure on businesses because many of their employees are struggling to make ends meet. Therefore, businesses are struggling to recruit and retain workers at competitive wages. This cycle is creating a shortage of workers in all sectors of our economy and is negatively impacting the business community.

Additionally, Madam Speaker, according to a new report published on October 12th, 2022, authored by the economists at the Royal Bank of Canada, a recession will likely occur in Canada within the first quarter of 2023. Madam Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

RBC, which is Canada's largest bank, says that the primary reasons driving the recession are interest rate increases, inflation, and a rapidly cooling housing market. They anticipate the recession will raise the unemployment rate across the board and that lower income people will be the hardest hit.

Lastly, Madam Speaker, the overall gross domestic product of our economy has been getting smaller with each quarter. So that is also a signal of declining economy. All these factors are harming people and business owners. People need help. I'll have questions for the Minister of ITI later today. Thank you, Madam Speaker.