Top mandarins shuffled at Industry, Environment, Inter’l Trade & Agriculture

Prime minister Paul Martin has completed his first major changes to the senior ranks of the federal bureaucracy, placing new faces in the departments of Industry, Environment, Agriculture and Agri-Food and International Trade. The changes take place less than a year after former prime minister Jean Chretién executed a minor shuffle.

Suzanne Hurtubise becomes DM at Industry Canada, moving over from Environment Canada where she was DM for less than one year. An economist by training, Hurtubise has held a wide range of civil service positions in a career spanning 28 years. She replaces Industry DM Jean-Claude Villiard who held the position for less than one year. He becomes special advisor to the Privy Council Office. Both appointments are effective May 10. Villiard is a relative newcomer to the federal government, joining in 2003 after three years as president of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. Prior to that he held senior positions with the World Bank and SNC Lavalin.

The DM position has also changed at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). Current DM Samy Watson ends a four-year stint to take up the same position at Environment Canada, replacing Hurtubise. Prior to AFC, Watson spent 14 years in various positions at the departments of Transport, Finance and the Privy Council Office.

The new DM at AAFC is Leonard Edwards, who is leaving the same position at International Trade. Edwards has considerable international experience having served as ambassador to Japan and the Republic of Korea. He will be replaced by Michelle d’Auray, who is currently the government’s chief information officer with the Treasury Board Secretariat.

A new entry into the federal civil service is Paul Boothe. An economics professor at the Univ of Alberta, he becomes associate DM Finance. Boothe served as Saskat-chewan’s DM finance under Roy Romanow and more recently worked with the Alberta government to implement health reforms stemming from the Mazankowski report.

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