When I talk about my members, I'm talking about the investment dealers. They're large and small. Many of them are small, almost 200 of them. A rise in corporate taxes at a time when they are under the gun would hurt. Profitability, particularly for small firms, is very weak.
As to the broader question, an increase in the corporate rate for corporate Canada would be a bad move. First, it would amount to a complete reversal in the commitment the government made to bring down taxes to competitive levels. So it would breach the commitment. It would also abrogate this very competitive rate we have, which sends a positive signal to business over and above the actual impact of the rate itself.
Second, the preferred rates, the small corporate rates, are driven by the large rate. So if you bring the large rate down to the 15% level, then you're providing a scaled-down version for small business. This is the wrong time to be looking at imposing a higher tax on any business, but particularly small, struggling businesses.