Dr. Harpreet S. Kochhar was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister of the Operations Sector for Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in July 2017.
Dr. Kochhar joined IRCC from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), where, as Associate Vice-President of Operations, he was responsible for delivering inspection services across the country as well as the management of over 4,000 employees. He has served as Canada’s Chief Veterinary Officer, as well as Canada’s Delegate to the World Organization for Animal Health. Dr. Kochhar was responsible for managing several high profile cases while at CFIA, including the official response to Canada’s largest beef recall (XL foods) in order to ensure the continuing safety of the Canadian food supply.
Prior to joining IRCC, Dr. Kochhar was Associate Professor at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College. He also practiced veterinary medicine as a small animal veterinarian in South Western Ontario.