Thank you, Mr. Chair.
It was the Department of Finance that wrote the letter to Panama. If my memory is correct, this occurred last July. The purpose of this letter was to invite Panama to negotiate a tax information exchange agreement. I do not believe that it is unusual for a country to take some time to examine the matter. We are expecting to receive a response from this government shortly.
With respect to the article that was published in La Presse, I believe that you are referring to the 2008 budget, if my memory serves me correctly. The government established incentives to encourage certain countries to enter into tax information exchange agreements with Canada.
The budget indicated that a country would have five years in which to sign such an agreement starting from the date that Canada sent an official letter proposing such a measure. Otherwise, dividends repatriated to Canada would be given a different tax treatment.