Industry committee  Yes, I would say the same thing. We went through a similar experience in terms of satellite signals. We need a package. We need the law to give the right protection and we need enforcement to send the right signal. One of the advantages that a law, rightly done, can do is that instead of going after the poor consumer, it can go after the bad guys who are cheating and making money on this, but that requires enforcement.

Industry committee  We have a lot of difficulty accessing the data from the universities, because they are very skittish about publishing any data that might show they're not doing extremely well in everything they do. Therefore, as an industry we have to see the government collecting the solid data.

Industry committee  We reacted very positively to that announcement. We've been talking about the problems here today of the skill shortage, and women and girls not being attracted to the careers. We were very happy to see the Prime Minister personally say that's not right for Canada and needs to be addressed.

Industry committee  For some time there has been a sort of two-way street. People are attracted primarily by the interest, the work, and the working environment. Of course, when we try to attract people from around the world, personal income taxes in Canada are in the negative column. In very recent years the environment is such that for many people Canada seems to be a more attractive place to go.

Industry committee  The Information and Communications Technology Sector Council, which is a governmental body, and there are councils in various industries, has estimated that over the coming few years there's going to be a shortage of 89,000 people due to retirements, growth in the industry that cannot be fulfilled.

Industry committee  I really haven't been able to give that much thought. That's one possibility. Another possibility is to use the colleges, because the infrastructure is there and they are more equipped to do retraining and that kind of thing. Maybe someone could manage a program like that, but it would be delivered through the institutions that already specialize in that kind of activity.

Industry committee  Studies show that the problem about the use of technology in Canada lies mainly with smaller firms and--you're right--across all sectors of the economy. Those macroeconomic studies demonstrate that. In our industry, you can imagine what position that leaves us in if people are not using our technology and the economy is suffering as a result.

Industry committee  That is where governments can help. For example, in Ontario we're engaged in discussions with the Ministry of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. They reach out to many places throughout the province to try to see whether they can put on programs to educate smaller businesses on what they can do to better succeed.

Industry committee  We have to be careful when we say there is a generation gap and that some people learn how to use technology and others don't. There is a continuum. People of all ages use the Internet, whether to make travel reservations or to do their banking. The situation in the school system is complex.

Industry committee  There are several.

Industry committee  The BlackBerry, which really is quite important. There are several other similar areas. Also, in Waterloo, we have the Perimeter Institute, which has attracted 80 Nobel prize calibre researchers. They are all potential candidates for a Nobel prize, and they come to Canada because this is where they find the most attractive environment in terms of the quality of their work and what they can accomplish.

Industry committee  The time shifting is something that needs to be addressed, and there's some cloud that's been put on that from a U.S. decision and debates in Canada about what we should do. Time shifting is value added for the customer. It's a good thing. It's even a good thing socially. I have to admit that the fact that I can watch things at a different time or I can record something, a show, the news in Winnipeg and in Vancouver, as opposed to the news in Ottawa, gets me to understand what is going on in those cities the way that I wouldn't.

Industry committee  As we said earlier, there is no automatic solution. To begin with, that is what we tell young people about their career choices. It is the effect of structural factors in the school system. Our companies and all sorts of people are doing a lot of work every day in the schools. This has to be supplemented by a public message, and the country's leaders have a role to play in getting the message out.

Industry committee  Yes. In a former life I was involved in another piracy issue that had to deal with satellite signals, and I think it is a significant problem. We're talking about a knowledge economy, so obviously you've got to protect your knowledge the way you protect ownership of real estate and property on that basis.

Industry committee  Our concern is more that we might have to offshore some very good jobs simply because we won't have the skilled people we need. This phenomenon of the shifting of knowledge jobs--they're actually quite moveable, and it's been taking place for years. The result has been pretty good for us, because it's simply made our firms more competitive.