Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles for his question.
First, I would like to say that his question is rather odd because it covers two subjects which, at first glance, appear completely unrelated. It must be said that my colleague was a little too vocal that day, to the point that the Speaker had to call him to order by encouraging him “to refrain from using such disruptive language.” I know that my hon. colleague does not want to be disruptive.
First, I am delighted that he spoke about the role of honorary colonels because I now have the opportunity to remind members that they are an integral part of the Canadian Armed Forces family. Their role is vital to our local communities. They use their experience and their expertise to promote and support members of the military and their families. They provide leadership and mentorship and foster camaraderie in units across the country.
Under section 3.33 of the Honorary Colonel Handbook prepared by the Royal Canadian Air Force, and as representatives of the Department of National Defence, honorary colonels must refrain from defending any political opinions. Indeed, in order to fully exercise their leadership and promote esprit de corps, it is very important that they steer well clear of comments that could possibly threaten operational security or promote political opinions. In other words, they must not cause any controversy.
I will now address the so-called gag order my colleague referred to. The gag order is not an accurate reflection of the reality of the obligations government representatives and suppliers with a security clearance must meet.
As the member is well aware, and I am sure he agrees, the Government of Canada takes the handing of secret information very seriously. The special security accountability forms he mentioned are documents that remind people of the need to protect information for security reasons, regardless of the individual's security clearance level. These forms are used to ensure that staff meet their obligations to the Crown under the Security of Information Act, particularly with respect to commercial information and sensitive military information.
These agreements protect delicate co-operative information for the long term. Signing such a document does not prevent a public servant from complying with the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act. It is our duty to protect material belonging to the private sector that is used in our procurement process. This obligation is especially important when it comes to replacing our fighter jets, one of the government's major procurement projects. This project is complex, costly, and important to national security.
Considering the expertise and sensitivity involved, we decided it was necessary and appropriate to have people sign special security accountability forms. Information from other governments and contractors, regardless of its classification, is given to us in confidence. Failure to keep that information safe and confidential and to be mindful of corporate concerns could compromise Canada's future contractual relationships and place Canada at a disadvantage.
That is why the security forms were signed to ensure that employees would not divulge sensitive information to any unauthorized party, regardless of their security clearance. The forms enhance existing security protocols and procedures by reminding employees that it is important to share this information on a need-to-know basis only.
This is the normal, usual, accepted procedure—