I have to disagree with you on the question of whether a Canon mirrorless is necessary. Canon desperately needs a high quality camera in a small form factor. Neither the S100 nor the G12 are up to the task, in this regard- each has point-and-shoot sized sensors, clunky zoom operations, tediously slow autofocus, etc. A slight upgrade or a modest sensor size bump won't do the job, what is needed is to rethink the entire operation. While the mirrorless market has become a crowded field, none of the companies have gotten the basic fundamentals right. This is what is needed: 1) a high quality sensor (APS-C or better), 2) fast pancake primes, 3) an viewfinder with strong manual focus capabilities, 4) fast autofocus, at least in single servo mode, and 5) weather sealing to take advantage of mirrorless' ideal size for travel and backpacking. All of these features are in existence, none has been pulled together by a single company. I'm not worried about whether Canon comes through with a mirrorless, though. Even if they don't come out with something in 2012, I expect that one or more other companies will final release a model that fulfills the above criteria. Fuji and Pentax are rumored to have new systems in the works and Samsung and Olympus may or may not get around to release a pro version of their mirrorless lines (I hold out no hope for Sony, those lens choices are abysmal). If Canon wants to continue specializing in monster-size L lenses for pros and flimsy plastic EF-S garbage for people wanting lighter weight, that's their choice, but in that case there will quite a few Canon users (myself included) who will be devoting more of their purchasing dollars toward other brands willing to fill this need.
