Prime Minister Stephen Harper has sewn up a pair of deals with the Swiss government that will give Canadians more air travel options and reduce trade barriers between the two countries.
The prime minister announced Friday morning that the two governments had updated their existing double-taxation and air transportation treaties.
The amended air transportation agreement will expand the operating rights of both Swiss and Canadian airlines, giving them greater freedom to adjust their prices and provide additional services in both countries.
The two governments have also agreed to share more tax information with one another, which will help Ottawa crack down on people trying to avoid paying Canadian taxes.
"Switzerland's been very co-operative with us in that regard," Harper told reporters at a joint news conference on Friday.
"The double-taxation agreement we're signing today will further enhance co-operation and obviously we'll use the information we gain through this to ensure that Canadians respect Canadian tax laws."
But the new double-taxation agreement will likely not help Ottawa investigate the thousands of Swiss bank accounts that Canadians currently hold with the HSBC and UBS banks. That's because the agreement applies only to tax transactions that occur after the start of January 2011.
The changes came after Harper attended a bilateral meeting with Swiss President Doris Leuthard on Friday morning.
In a statement, Harper said the two countries "continue to build our excellent relations" and the new agreements will strengthen Swiss-Canadian ties.
Switzerland has been under increasing pressure to make its secretive banking system more transparent. So far, the Swiss government has brought some reforms to loosen its strict confidentiality laws about private accounts.
Harper is in Europe to attend the Swiss-hosted Francophone summit, which brings together representatives from dozens of states governments that use French as a common language.
After the Francophonie summit, Harper is due to attend a bilateral meeting with the Ukraine government on Sunday.
With files from The Canadian Press
