International Trade committee  Our agreement is based on the OECD model created in 2002. The vast majority of TIEAs are very similar in terms of that. In order to obtain information about a specific taxpayer, a taxing authority must ask the other taxing authority for that information, which would enable the re

International Trade committee  I can tell you that Panama in 2001 made a commitment to adhere to the international standard on exchange of information and as of a few years ago has started to negotiate tax treaties that contain that standard for exchange of information and tax information exchange agreements.

International Trade committee  We tend to avoid labelling countries. All I know is we're negotiating a tax information exchange agreement with Panama that is in accordance with the standards, and once it is in force it will help Canada enforce its own tax laws.

International Trade committee  I think the negotiation of those two things have been independent, yes.

International Trade committee  No, we haven't signed yet.

International Trade committee  First of all, the criteria for the grey list were that you needed to have 12 agreements in place. Then you'd be on the white list, but I would say that's just an interim measure. What is really going on with those countries that enter into TIEAs is this. We're all members of th

International Trade committee  No. Canada and Panama started negotiations for a tax information exchange agreement in March of this year. Negotiations went well, and they're ongoing.

International Trade committee  As I said, they're ongoing, and we'll perhaps have an announcement later this year.

International Trade committee  I can't really answer questions about money laundering, which is not really my area. My area is confined to taxation. All I know is that Panama committed in 2002 to exchange information to help partners enforce their tax laws. They have negotiated a number of deals. A number of t

International Trade committee  The standards are virtually the same for double taxation agreements and tax information exchange agreements. The difference lies in the extent of the details in the latter compared to the former. In both instances, the standards are the same and the authority to request and obta

International Trade committee  We have signed 9 such agreements and 16 more are currently being negotiated. And there will also be additional negotiations.

International Trade committee  We always use the same model, the OECD model, more or less.

International Trade committee  Yes, it is a model first used in 2004. All countries use the OECD model. Of course, in the case of bilateral negotiations, minor adjustments must always be made, but generally speaking, all of our agreements include OECD standards for the exchange of information.

International Trade committee  I can't say. We will have to continue trying to convince Panama to negotiate an information exchange agreement. I don't know what the next step is. Obviously, we can expect a response from Panama at some point, but I can't say when that will be.

International Trade committee  I attended a meeting of the Global Forum, an entity whose member countries are committed to following international standards on information exchange and must undergo very strict peer reviews. That meeting gave me the opportunity to informally reiterate our interest in negotiatin