Alex Ruff on Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

With regard to the Privy Council Office's response to the question on the Order Paper Q-2571, namely, that “Members of Parliament being considered for Cabinet position undergo a pre-appointment Governor-in-Council background check conducted by the Privy Council Office. Once appointed to Cabinet, the background check, coupled with the oath they take and the Ministerial Security Briefing they receive, permits them access to information classified to Top Secret for the duration of their tenure as Cabinet Minister”: (a) when did this become the policy of the government; (b) why was the 2008 policy, reportedly "that security background checks on Ministers, Ministers of State and Parliamentary Secretaries, and their spouses or partners, be renewed every two years while the appointee occupies a position as Minister, Minister of State or Parliamentary Secretary", changed; and (c) was there any other intervening policy, and, if so, (i) what was it, (ii) when was it in effect?