S-8 , 40th Parliament, 2nd session Monday, January 26, 2009, to Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The Library of Parliament does not prepare Legislative Summaries for bills that implement treaties, conventions, agreements or administrative arrangements bills. The following is a short summary:

On 18 November 2009, the Leader of the Government in the Senate introduced Bill S-7, An Act to implement conventions and protocols concluded between Canada and Colombia, Greece and Turkey for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income (Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2009) in the Senate and it was given first reading.

This enactment implements the most recent tax treaties that Canada has concluded with Colombia, Greece and Turkey. Since a tax treaty contains taxation rules that are different from the provisions of the Income Tax Act, it becomes effective only after being given precedence over domestic legislation by an Act of Parliament such as this one.

The treaties implemented reflect efforts to expand Canada’s tax treaty network. Those treaties are generally patterned on the Model Double Taxation Convention prepared by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.