The problem raised by The Economist is a recurrent one. Most experts are raising it. With respect to the agreements and treaties we are discussing, among the six countries, some of them have an automatic transfer of information and others do not. It will probably be the same for all of our agreements. Yet that gives rise to some inconsistency and inefficiency. The rules differ depending on the agreements and countries involved.
Besides, these countries, be it Hong Kong, Switzerland, Namibia, Serbia or Poland, may even be signing agreements with other countries that are different from the ones they sign with Canada. Ultimately, we end up with a tax treaty system that is impossible to navigate and that eventually goes against the objective.
My main concern about these treaties is that the government could very well say that it has done its part, that a bilateral agreement has been signed and that that's where it ends, when there are other blatant problems, including the issue of dummy corporations or shell companies. My colleague will likely address that issue later.