Thank you, Mr. Chair, for giving me the floor.
Madam Deputy Minister, Mr. Lemieux and Mr. Mongeau, thank you for being here today.
You clearly have a very good understanding of Quebec. You spoke about the regions, an SME economy and the CFDCs. I'd like to discuss two issues on this matter.
You mentioned your youth entrepreneurship strategy. As we know, keeping young people in our regions is one of the main issues. I'm from Mauricie, a region experiencing a complete industrial redevelopment. It is making a lot of progress, but through entrepreneurship and the digital sector.
The second point I'd like to mention ties in with what many of my colleagues have addressed: connectivity. The federal budget sets aside $500 million specifically for improving connectivity in our regions. Connectivity is vital so that the people in our regions can take part in our innovation program, which will help to increase productivity.
Youth entrepreneurship and connectivity are two important aspects of your mandate that I'd like to hear you speak about.