Canada’s government has lined up a new federal deputy minister for agriculture and a new president for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, both to take office later this month.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a shuffle in the top ranks of the public service involving 11 senior managers following four recent retirements.
Associate deputy minister of defence Stefanie Beck becomes Canada’s senior ag bureaucrat, effective Feb. 20; and Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) president Dr. Harpreet Kochhar becomes the new president of CFIA, starting Feb. 27.
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As deputy ag minister, Beck will replace Chris Forbes, who was shuffled to become deputy minister of environment and climate change, also effective Feb. 20.
Beck came to the department of national defence in January last year after a 16-month stint with Global Affairs Canada as deputy high commissioner for Canada in the U.K. and Northern Ireland. Her previous work in Global Affairs has seen her take point on trade, development and foreign policy initiatives.
Her resume also includes management positions in the department of foreign affairs from 2006 to 2013; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada from 2013 to 2017; and the federal Privy Council Office from 2018 to 2020. Her time as a diplomat also includes stints as Canada’s ambassador to Cambodia (2002-04) and Croatia (2004-06).
As CFIA president, Kochhar replaces Dr. Siddika Mithani, who retired effective Jan. 20. CFIA’s executive vice-president Jean-Guy Forgeron has been in charge of the agency on an interim basis since then.
To Canadian farmers and ranchers, Kochhar is best known for his previous roles at CFIA between 2008 and 2017, which included serving Canada’s chief veterinary officer from 2014 to 2017.
During his stint at CFIA, he oversaw the agency’s response to outbreaks of H5N2 avian flu and bovine tuberculosis and is credited with spearheading the response to Canada’s largest beef recall.
Before joining CFIA, he was an assistant professor at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College, with research interests in animal biotechnology, and worked as a vet in private practice.
Kochhar has served as PHAC president since October 2021, after stints as associate deputy minister of health (2020-21) and as assistant deputy minister with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (2017-20).
On Kochhar’s return to CFIA, PHAC — which oversees food recalls and the federal response to disease outbreaks in people — will be led by Heather Jeffrey, the current associate deputy minister of health, as president, effective Feb. 27. Nancy Hamzawi, currently assistant deputy minister for Health Canada’s health products and food branch, then becomes PHAC’s executive vice-president. — Glacier FarmMedia Network
