Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Again going to new media, we have so many new technologies available to us, especially in the wireless world, where people want to receive a lot of this content on their iPods or their PDAs. In fact, just recently there was the announcement of the Slingbox, which will allow people to view what they could normally watch on television on any portable device that has the capabilities.
The challenge, of course, for not only the CBC but the broadcasting industry in general in Canada is how you capture that content. How do you “monetize” it, as Mr. Angus referred to it?
That brings me to the question that relates to the new media exemption. At present, almost all new media is exempted from regulation by the CRTC. I refer you to sections 392 through to 398 of the report.
There appear to be two minds within the industry. Some of the players, of course, believe very strongly that the new media exemption should stay in place, that it contributes to allowing this technology to develop within Canada. Other players, such as the CBC, the official languages commissioner, some of the cultural and production stakeholders, have questioned the value of the new media exemption.
What I'd like to do is quote some of the comments made in the report, first of all from section 396:
The Commission notes the comments from many parties that the new media exemption order has helped foster innovation and entrepreneurship by Canadian companies on the Internet.
Then we move to section 397:
It is certainly the case that the presence of the new media exemption order does not in any way preclude Canadian entities from undertaking self-initiated activities consistent with the objectives of the Act. Nor does the presence of the new media exemption order prevent government or the Commission from creating incentives to encourage broadcasting undertakings to launch Canadian content-rich Internet or mobile based services....
And then finally, section 398 says:
Traditional regulatory approaches are not the only means by which public policy can enhance a Canadian presence on new media platforms. Incentive-based regulatory measures may ultimately be more likely to succeed in the emerging “open” broadcasting system.
Now, those comments, which I believe may reflect the Commission's bias—maybe I'm using the wrong term—certainly reflect an indicator that an incentive-based approach to regulating new media may be more desirable than the traditional model.
My question to you is, first, have you already taken a position on that? The other question is, is there any intention of lifting the new media exemption in the near future?