You are correct to say that electronic trade did not exist 23 years ago. The iPhone was created 10 years ago.
I once was Minister of Finance and I am now president of the Institut du Québec, which has just produced a report on e-trade. I think that for Quebec and all of the country, standardizing the rules of the game is what is important.
Competition is a very good thing, on condition that everyone is on a level playing field. That means that the Department of Finance of Quebec, of Ontario and of Canada are going to have to reverse the burden. Retailers and suppliers are going to have to collect the sales tax when a transaction is done through e-trade. This has to be transparent, and everyone has to be on an equal footing; that is fundamental. It requires reforms, but they are being done in Europe, Australia, Norway and elsewhere. It is doable.
In this way, we can create many more openings for e-trade. In the meantime, I think we have to be somewhat more protectionist, because things are totally unfair for our retailers. We are talking about tens of thousands of jobs that are going to change in any case because of what is happening with e-trade. If e-trade is done within Canada and everyone pays the sales tax, there is no problem. However, if someone from the outside does not pay the sales tax, it becomes a serious problem.