Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
First of all, thank you very much for your presentations. We see all of the thought that was put into this as well as the needs this thinking has brought to light.
Mr. Perlmutter, I think you put your finger on numerous immensely important challenges, including, among other things, the issue of isolation despite connectivity. I believe that this aspect should be looked at.
You also provided a lot of statistics, and there again, you are right. We are sensing that all of this digital technology is opening the door to activities that are not necessarily reflected in the statistics, but we also sense that new things are emerging and that at some point in time there will be a major and rapid breakthrough. Wireless, for example, comes to mind. You did not mention numbers, but in Quebec — you will understand that I am quite familiar with the statistics regarding Quebec —, only 13% of residents have a smart phone, despite all of the energy and creativity which is, rightly so, devoted to it. Among those who do have a smart phone, only 8% use it to surf the Net. So this reduces yet again the number of potential customers for that content.
We are presently experiencing a period that I would qualify as difficult and that other technologies have gone through in the past, among them television. We have reached a stage where we are asking ourselves if we should give priority to the container or the content. I believe that history has taught us that we must do both things at the same time — somewhat like a plough that removes snow; it must be removed from the sidewalk and from the road at the same time — in order that the entire population go along with the current.
Equally, there is a population challenge that you did not bring up either. We, seated around this table, get along well, understand each other well, all have a BlackBerry, all know what an application is, we have seen it, we have done it and we are asking for more. However, there is an entire population, namely 87% of Quebeckers, that does not understand us. I believe that this is a challenge that we also have to reflect upon. We must include these people so as to ensure that our society is fair and equal.
I apologize for taking this time to share my views with you. I will now come to the content. Indeed, you have an extremely interesting application for smart phones.