Since we don't have much time, I was speaking quickly. My apologies to the translators.
Still referring to the work of Marie-Christine Dupuis-Danon, I would like to add that Panama is open to the network of international tax havens where, as we know, about half of the world's flow of funds goes.
I will go over other data by focusing on another book, Les Cartels criminels, written by Alain Delpirou and Eduardo MacKenzie—MacKenzie being a jurist by training, that stresses that cocaine and heroine trafficking is a major industry in the region. It is an even greater problem since we know that the free port of Colon has direct access to an uncontrolled zone in Colombia.
Thierry Cretin is the author of Mafias du monde : Organisations criminelles transnationales, actualité et perspectives. He is a former French judge and he worked for the European Anti-Fraud Office. He tells us that the Colombian and Mexican mafias are very active in Canada while also being very present in Panama. Need I say more.
I will not go back to what Todd Tucker said in this committee. To conclude, I will just say that a free trade agreement between Canada and Panama would increase the porosity of Canadian jurisdiction when dealing with an economy described as criminal by many reliable criminologists. These are enough data for us to remain extremely vigilant. We can also add that, in principle, as citizens, not even as experts or specialists, we should not recognize a state that is not able to guarantee that it does not provide a safe haven for international crime. We also have to show caution in our policies. Thank you.