First, Canada has signed slightly over 80 double taxation agreements. I am not including agreements for the exchange of information in those agreements. About 190 countries are members of the United Nations. So we can see that there are double taxation agreements with fewer than half of those countries. There are reasons why this is the case. Some countries do not need to have a double taxation agreement, because they do not collect the same kind of income tax as we do. In any event, all countries need financial resources to meet their needs. In some countries, the word "merits" is a word that has a value connotation and I would not want to express an opinion on that. Does Canada need to have double taxation agreements with every country? I think not, given the situation. On the other hand, I think that signing information exchange agreements should be the norm.
On March 21st, 2013. See this statement in context.