I'm getting to the point at hand, Mr. Chair. I've stayed on topic, although yes, perhaps I've strayed at certain points.
I know Mr. Genuis is off his game here a little bit and wants to continue to interject. It's not my intent to get under his skin. He's a valued colleague, and I hope we can remain collegial here.
There are others, Mr. Chair, who will say that the role of parliamentarians—and this again reflects their position on what the state is all about—the primary job of parliamentarians, is to make sure that people are secure, because the job of the state is to ensure the physical security of citizens, but that's not just a point that relates to the need for a strong military.
Think about economic security and what Canadians are going through right now. You don't have to have a particularly focused understanding of German sociology through the works of Max Weber and others on what the state is all about to recognize that the state is much more than an entity tasked with ensuring the physical security of citizens. The economic security of citizens is absolutely paramount, and here we have an opportunity at this committee to look at that matter in great detail.
I'm tempted, Mr. Chair, as someone of Greek heritage, to speak about the philosophies of Aristotle and Plato and what Socrates said about the state. I won't go into that—