Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Beaudoin and colleagues, welcome back. This is an interesting topic. I do recall some of your testimony from your last visit to this committee.
In the business that I came from in my previous career in the retail sector, it became clear a number of years ago, maybe 10 years ago, that with the advent of the Internet and the growth in technology in both the consumer realm and SMEs—in my case, it was an SME—customers were coming in the door as well prepared and as knowledgeable as our own people, or maybe better than our own people. The training and development of our staff became a major factor in our go-forward strategies to ensure that we were able to truly compete in a technological world.
I've looked at the numbers you've presented, and we've seen these before, but 41% had a web presence in 2007, versus 70% in 2011. I presume that has grown even further. As a quick question off the top, to what extent do broadband affordability and availability contribute to Canadian business ICT investment?
I'm thinking of my colleagues and me in my previous industry, where it was an impediment; it was a problem making sure that you had the right technology, but at a cost that was substantive.... With the broadband development and growth, I wonder if you could give us some thoughts on that.