Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, this is the first of the two motions that I'll move:That, notwithstanding the Order adopted by the Committee on Thursday, September 27, 2012, the Committee postpone its clause by clause consideration of Bill C-24 until Canada and Panama have signed a tax information exchange agreement.
I'll briefly explain the purpose and reasoning for this motion, Mr. Chair. One of the major considerations as this agreement has come before Parliament in the past has been Panama's reputation as being a known tax haven, a place where offshore money can be hidden in banks without disclosure to other countries. That concern has been exacerbated by the fact that illicit money from illegal activities, notably the drug trade, has also been identified to have flowed into Panama, leading to a concern that investment money that goes into Panama could fly out of Panama and go to other jurisdictions, including Canada.
We've heard evidence that the situation seems to be improving since this agreement came before the committee. We understand that Panama has been removed from the so-called grey list because it has signed 12 tax information exchange agreements with countries. That's enough to remove it from the grey list.
I understand from the witnesses we've heard that Panama and Canada have been negotiating a tax information exchange agreement. I reviewed the previous testimony before this committee and found that Panama was resistant to Canada's request that we sign such an exchange agreement.
It's important that Canada and Panama have the ability to exchange tax information as a means of stopping the laundering of illegal money and to ensure that Panama is not a tax haven. Again, to Panama's credit, we heard from the ambassador that the negotiations are at a fairly advanced stage. I formed the impression that they were near completion.
My research indicates that the U.S. Congress went in the reverse of this Parliament. Because of Panama's history as a tax haven and drug-laundering centre or attraction, the U.S. Congress required that a tax information exchange agreement be signed before they would sign off on a trade agreement. The reasoning is pretty obvious. Until you have a tax exchange information agreement, you really have no way of opening up the Panamanian banking system or tax system to scrutiny by our jurisdiction; therefore, you don't know if money flowing into Canada is flowing in from drug cartels or other illicit activities.
This motion essentially agrees with the same responsible position of the U.S. Congress, which is that whatever the merits of signing a trade agreement are—and I understand the government is fully behind such—I think we all agree that a tax information exchange agreement is an important part of the puzzle.
I think it's only prudent that we, as parliamentarians, reassure Canadians that such an agreement is in place so that we can rest assured that any concerns regarding status as a tax haven or a drug-laundering centre are taken care of prior to signing a trade agreement that will see the flow of investment—presumably from Panama into Canada and Canada into Panama—at increased levels.
I'd urge all members of the committee to vote in favour of this motion. It doesn't mean this Parliament won't pass a trade agreement; I think it just puts it in the right order, and puts prudence and care before haste.