The political signal we are sending to the international community is actually creating problems. If Canada claims to be fighting against tax havens, but then signs a free trade agreement with a country that is well known for being a hub for laundering drug money, we have a problem indeed. I presented some data collected by criminologists on this issue to the Standing Committee on International Trade. This is also a problem in terms of responsibility and credibility. If on the one hand we encourage and recognize the states that enable drug money laundering, but on the other hand we fight against tax havens by participating in peer review committees, we have a credibility problem on our hands. This is a major factor.
Let me go back to a point that we will have to deal with at some stage. At the World Bank, an institution that is not at all insignificant, Canada shares its seat with a group of Caribbean tax havens. This group is often the target of distinguished criminologists who consider them to be connected to drug trafficking is some shape or form. Canada should be asking itself some moral questions if it wants to be credible, if it wants to be able to say eventually that it takes part in a peer review mechanism and that its presence makes the process credible. This is not the case right now.