It is multiplayer, so maybe someone else is using their iPhone to play with Mr. Van Kesteren.
That is the type of innovation we've been able to create out of Montreal using the different programs that I have mentioned before. That game, using the Lego licence that we work with, is something that is unique, that you can play on the web and you can play also on your iOS Apple device.
We compete with other Canadian enterprises to benefit from various programs. During the various meetings of this committee, you have had the opportunity of discovering an industry that is worth supporting, and whose future is very bright.
I must not forget to mention that federal research and development programs could be improved to encourage sectors that show strong growth and contribute particularly to the development of new technologies and expertise.
Canada excels at video game technology. Our slogan is the same as Canada's slogan at the Sochi Olympic Games: “Let's go for gold”. However, as in hockey, we need talented people in order to succeed.
Which leads me to talk about resources, a key issue for our sector. By resources, I mean the talent that exists in Canada. Others have mentioned it before the committee before me. We compete with studios everywhere in the world. We even compete with our own studios, for instance in London, England. Sometimes we look for people who have very specific expertise, but there are very few of these people throughout the world. It is important for us to have access to the best candidates from all over the world.
Although Canada is in a good position to train the best employees, sometimes we have to go abroad to fill certain positions demanding a particular level of expertise and experience. Sometimes there are only a few people in the global industry who have relevant experience or who have developed innovative techniques or processes.
I will give you a quick example of an international search for talent that we had to do before we started our game Batman: Arkham Origins. We needed a creative director, someone who is technically very savvy, who is also very creative, as per the position title. We eventually found this person to be working in North Carolina. He was a Scotsman who had worked in Vancouver for EA, had moved to North Carolina and was working for Epic. We eventually brought him back to Montreal.
This is just to illustrate the flow of talent and how that can work in our industry. And when we need that guy or that gal, we're very adamant that we need to be able to get that, and we hope to be able to have flexibility in our programs on the federal side so we can bring in these people in a very timely manner, because if we find someone, you can be sure that someone else knows they exist and is trying to get them also. We'd rather have them here with us and help develop our young talent than have them go somewhere else.
Qualified foreign professionals are essential to fill important gaps at the studio, when they give us an advantage by transferring knowledge.
Delays and restrictions related to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program are preventing the needs of the Canadian video games sector from being met. The sector hires highly skilled workers—let me emphasize the fact that they are highly skilled—who are paid much more than the national average, and contribute to the growth of a sector that is a leader in the digital economy.
As you have surely heard from some of my colleagues, each person we bring here represents a major investment and we do not do so lightly. These are very calculated investments and we hope to obtain excellent yields from them in knowledge and leadership. As is often said, few people in the sector come from other countries, but they are important people, and often, their contribution helps in job retention.
In closing I would like to emphasize the fact that the video game sector is a niche sector within other digital industries. It shows that Canada can compete in the world and succeed. This sector shows that Canada can and must continue to encourage job creation for the workers of the future.
Thank you very much. I would be pleased to answer your questions.