Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) has a new deputy minister.
Greg Meredith will become deputy minister on Jan. 9. A deputy minister is a ministry’s chief civil servant, managing its implementation of government policy.
Meredith replaces Dr. Deb Stark, who recently retired as deputy minister, capping a 30-year career in public service that included time as the province’s chief veterinarian. She has been a fixture in Ontario agriculture and is known to have known the sector well.
Meredith has worked for more than 30 years as a federal public servant, including most recently with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), where he is now assistant deputy minister for strategic policy.
He has also worked as an assistant deputy minister at AAFC, in farm financial programs and communications and consultations. Meredith has master’s degrees in business administration and international affairs.
Debra Sikora, the assistant deputy minister for OMAFRA’s food safety and environment division since 2013, has served as acting deputy agriculture minister since Dec. 1.
— John Greig is a field editor for Glacier FarmMedia based at Ailsa Craig, Ont.
