BARBADOS – The Prime Minister of Canada, the Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper, will pay a working visit to Barbados following a tour of Latin America and the Caribbean, on Wednesday July 18. While in Barbados, he is expected to meet with several CARICOM Heads.
Prime Minister Owen Arthur will host a joint press conference with his Canadian counterpart on Thursday, July 19, at the Sherbourne Conference Centre, where both leaders are expected to speak about the strength of the relations between the two allies, which dates back some 100 years.
The Prime Minister of Canada will round-off his public engagements when he delivers the feature address at an Ideas Forum, to be held on Thursday, July 19 at 4.30 p.m in the Needhams Room, at the Hilton Hotel, St. Michael.
Prime Minister Harper was elected to office on January 26, 2006.
While there have been several Canada/CARICOM encounters through the fora of major multilateral meetings, the visit to Barbados represents the first opportunity for CARICOM Heads of Government to meet and engage with the current Prime Minister of Canada.
Over the years, the Commonwealth Caribbean has enjoyed a long history of successful cooperation with Canada. This is especially true of the Canada / Barbados relationship and in 2007 the two states will celebrate 100 years of Canadian representation in Barbados.
For decades the partnership between Canada and the Caribbean has been defined as a special relationship sustained by successive Governments through high level dialogue and substantive interaction on areas of mutual interest. There has been a tradition of regular Summits between Heads of Government of CARICOM and Canada. The last conference took place in Montego Bay in 2001.
Over the years Canadian multinationals have significantly increased their presence abroad with Canadian investments having many “positive” effects on the Canadian economy.
A closer look at the data on Canada’s Foreign Direct Investment abroad indicates that approximately 20% moves through low-tax jurisdictions, of which Barbados is the largest.
There is an important distinction between low-tax jurisdictions and tax havens. According to the OECD, low-tax jurisdictions in and of themselves do not amount to Harmful Tax Practices, whereas tax havens may. The distinction between the two relates to transparency and information sharing that comes with a low-tax jurisdiction and is absent in a tax haven. Barbados is an example of a low-tax jurisdiction and is not a tax haven. As such, the OECD and its member governments are satisfied that Barbados’ level of transparency and information sharing does not allow for individuals and companies to use that jurisdiction to evade taxes.
Barbados and CARICOM welcome the visit of Prime Minister Harper as a tangible demonstration of Canada’s strong and continuing interest in the Caribbean and as an opportunity to renew and strengthen this vital partnership with a major hemispheric ally.
