Timothy Sargent, one of the Senior Ranks Announced in Public Service Shuffle
By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently announced some changes in the senior ranks of the public service, including to Agriculture Canada. Harper has named Timothy Sargent, acting Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet (Operations), Privy Council Office, to become Associate Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, starting April 29, 2013. Sargent will be replacing Claude Carrière, former Associate Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, who has retired from the public service after 33-years.
While Agriculture Canada’s new head doesn’t have a background in agriculture, Sargent has ties to the finance department and the centre of government control. He worked as a senior economist at the finance department from 1994 to 2008, before moving to the Privy Council, which is the prime minister’s central government bureaucracy.
In addition to the new appointments, Harper also thanked a number of public servants who are retiring, including Brian Evans, former chief veterinary officer for Canada and vice-president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Evans was with the agency during the BSC crisis and was also Canada’s first chief food safety officer.