Chris Forbes, the deputy agriculture minister in Ottawa, is moving to environment and climate change as of Feb. 20.
Prime minister Justin Trudeau announced several changes to the public service Feb. 10.
Forbes will be replaced by Stefanie Beck, currently associate deputy minister of national defence.
Beck began her career with the public service in 2006 and held several positions within foreign affairs and international trade until 2013 when she moved to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. She then became an assistant deputy minister for Europe, Circumpolar Affairs, Middle East and Maghreb at Global Affairs Canada before serving as an assistant secretary to cabinet from 2018-20.
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In 2020-21, Beck was deputy high commissioner for Canada in the United Kingdom. She took on her position at defence in January 2022.
Forbes has been deputy agriculture minister since May 2017. He started with the finance department in 2000, spent time at environment beginning in 2013, and became associate deputy in agriculture in 2015. He moved briefly back to finance in 2016-17 as an associate deputy.
Trudeau also announced that Dr. Harpreet S. Kochhar will lead the Canadian Food Inspection Agency effective Feb. 27. Kochhar has been president of the Public Health Agency of Canada.
He is a veterinarian with a doctorate in animal biotechnology from the University of Guelph and served in various roles at CFIA from 2008 to 2017. He then spent time at IRCC, and health, before going to PHAC in October 2021.
