—and walked down the steps.
Something that allows me to do this is the belief that somehow I am giving something to my son through contributing to the country and what I aspire for it to be. I always tell people that the House sits for 26 weeks but for 26 weeks there are commitments in the constituency. You do international travel, there are caucus commitments, but your time is flexible. So I'm very fortunate. I get to vacation with my son when many Canadians don't have the opportunity to do that. I like to think I'm giving him opportunities later in life. I was fortunate to do this as a diplomat as well for him.
I'm not sure if I use it more as a justification to myself or to others, but my question is this. What were the benefits that you felt you were giving your family during the time that you were doing this service? It is a tough balance between those two things. Your contributions to society.... We would be foolish if we didn't say personal ambition doesn't play a part, but for them you like to think that they'll go to a better university or they'll be in a better network of opportunities later in life, potentially.
What were some of the benefits that you felt made you consider staying in politics?