Canada could pursue UBS in court if bank officials refuse to disclose the names of Canadian clients who are evading taxes using UBS accounts, but even the government minister responsible believes stronger laws may be needed, Reuters reported.

With UBS lawyers reportedly in talks this week with officials at Revenue Canada over the use of offshore bank accounts by wealthy Canadians to evade taxes, attention has turned to Canada's ability - or lack thereof - to compel the Swiss lender to name its Canadian clients, the news agency said.

The standoff between UBS and Ottawa follows a US tax probe. Washington accused UBS of using Swiss bank secrecy laws to help wealthy clients avoid paying taxes and forced it to hand over some treasured client data. UBS agreed in August to reveal the names of thousands of 4,450 US client accounts to settle a tax-avoidance dispute.

Now revenue officials in Ottawa want the same information, the news agency said.