IRCC Deputy Minister Transition Binder 2024 – Senior Executive Biographies

Associate Deputy Minister - Scott Harris

Mr. Harris was appointed Associate Deputy Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in July 2022.

Prior to this appointment, he was the Vice-President of the Intelligence and Enforcement Branch at Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) since June 2020. At CBSA, Scott led delivery of the Intelligence and Enforcement Branch’s eight national programs, worked closely with IRCC on the Canada–United States Safe Third Country Agreement and led CBSA’s response following the collapse of Afghanistan and the war in Ukraine.

Scott also previously held the position of Regional Deputy Commissioner of Ontario with the Correctional Service of Canada, where he was responsible for ensuring public safety by strategically leading correctional operations across Ontario and Nunavut, overseeing federal institutions and parole offices responsible for more than 6,500 federally sentenced offenders, and working with a strong network of community partners and stakeholders.

Scott began his public service career with the Correctional Service of Canada in 1995 as a Correctional Officer. He also held a number of other positions, including Case Management Officer, Parole Officer and Project Officer. He later moved into various management positions, including Director of Restorative Justice, Director General of Citizen Engagement, Associate Assistant Commissioner of Correctional Operations and Programs and Assistant Commissioner of Communications and Engagement. In addition, he has provided intergovernmental and international leadership for the federal government’s strategic advancement of restorative justice for more than 20 years.

Scott graduated from the University of Alberta with a bachelor’s degree in criminology and from Queen’s University with a master’s degree with a concentration in restorative justice.

Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy - Louise Baird

Louise Baird is Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy, at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). In this role, she has a wide-ranging portfolio and is responsible for horizontal policy integration through long-term strategic policy development and analysis. This includes: immigration levels planning; leading on Indigenous Border Mobility and cross-cutting policy files such as housing; Cabinet and regulatory affairs; engagement with provinces, territories and stakeholders; implementation of the Strategic Immigration Review; strategic research; overseeing enterprise-wide data governance and utilization; and, leading corporate planning and reporting.

Prior to joining IRCC, Louise was the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM), Intergovernmental Affairs at the Privy Council Office. Louise also worked as an ADM at the Treasury Board Secretariat, where, among other duties, she managed the Treasury Board Cabinet Committee. At the beginning of her public service career, she spent several years in a variety of leadership roles in Canada’s Industry Department. Before joining the federal public service, Louise worked in Ottawa’s high-tech sector.

Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Service Delivery Sector – Darcy Pierlot

Darcy Pierlot (he/him/il/lui) was appointed to the role of Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Service Delivery Sector in January 2024. He had previously held the position of Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Information Officer, Digital Strategy, Services and Innovation Sector since 2022.

Darcy is a professional engineer and a passionate advocate of the public service. He is a strategic thinker with a technical background and broad operational experience.

He has held a number of technical and leadership roles within the public service, having previously worked at the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) from 2006 to 2022 before joining IRCC, serving as Director General where he focused on critical technological and security elements underpinning CSE’s transition to a hybrid workplace. In addition, Darcy was seconded to the Privy Council Office from 2019 to 2021, where he was Chief Security Officer and Executive Director to the offices of the Prime Minister and the Privy Council.

Chief Digital Officer & Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Digital Strategy, Services and Innovation - Jason Choueiri

Jason Choueiri is the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Client Service, Innovation and Chief Digital Officer (Digital Strategy, Services and Innovation Sector) responsible for setting IRCC’s service and transformation agenda, leading service policy and client experience functions, as well as designing, implementing and managing the delivery of a suite of projects and the Digital Platform Modernization Programme to transform the Department’s service delivery strategies, frameworks operating models and business processes. Previously, Jason served as the Assistant Deputy Minister, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of the Immigration and Refugee Board where he oversaw day-to-day operations of Canada’s largest administrative tribunal, while delivering on a range of strategic and operational services to the Board, including delivering on a modernization agenda to improve productivity, enhance quality and strengthen management practices.

Previous to that, Jason served as Director General for Transformation Planning, Design and Oversight at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), where he founded ESDC’s Acceleration Hub and led the development and implementation of multi-year service improvement strategies and service design practices. He also served as the Director General, Strategic Directions where he developed the long-term vision for the modernization of Canada’s three largest statutory programs (Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan, and Old Age Security). Jason has held several senior roles overseeing large programs, complex procurements and major capital projects, and client-service operations at National Defence, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, and Shared Services Canada.

Jason has a Master’s degree in Business Administration, as well as a Bachelor of Commerce, Specialization in Management of Information Systems from the University of Ottawa. He is a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his contributions to Canada.

Chief Information Officer And Assistant Deputy Minister, Digital Strategy, Services And Innovation – Marie-Josée Dorion

Marie-Josée Dorion was recently appointed to the role of Assistant Deputy Minister, Chief Information Officer Sector (functioning as Digital Strategy, Services and Innovation together with the Client Service, Innovation and Chief Digital Officer Sector), January 2024. Previously, she held the position of interim Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of the Service Delivery Sector, November - December 2023. Prior to this, she was the Director General of the Operations Planning and Performance Branch (OPPB) from 2021-2023. OPPB is a horizontal hub for operational performance and planning that supports IRCC operations through innovative data analytics and timely data-driven products and services to support decision-making. OPPB serves as the Service Delivery Sector’s strategic integrator on many fronts including information technology (IT) release planning and human resources (HR) at the sector level.

Marie-Josée has been at IRCC for over 20 years, holding various roles across many sectors. This includes several key leadership roles such as acting Director General of the Citizenship and Passport Programs Branch, Senior Director of the Solutions Task Team, and Director of Investigation and Exceptional Cases Division within the Case Management Branch.

Her extensive IRCC experience also includes the development, implementation and successful delivery of transformational projects including Temporary Residents Biometrics Project, Advanced Analytics/automation, the Passport Program Modernization Initiative, and the first version of the Global Case Management System that was rolled out overseas.

Marie-Josée began her career as a Foreign Service Officer stationed in Paris, France and holds a PhD in Historical Economics from the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières.

Assistant Deputy Minister, Communications – Murray Jones

Murray Jones was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister of Communications in September 2023.

Murray has over 15 years of experience in the public service—the last two and a half of which were as our Director General of Communications. During this time, Murray successfully developed the Communications team to provide significant support and advice to IRCC’s senior executives and the Minister’s Office on departmental planning, issues management, and key priorities. This new role recognizes the impact of Communications, which is now a sector and an equal partner at the senior executive table.

Murray is recognized for unlocking organizational potential, fostering innovation and building high performing, multidisciplinary teams. An experienced and strategic communicator, Murray is skilled at supporting organizational priorities through robust issues management and modern, proactive communications. Over the course of his career, he has worked in five federal organizations, including the Privy Council Office, where he led communications for the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister prior to joining IRCC.

Murray holds a B.A. in Translation from the Université de Montréal.

Chief Human Resources Officer And Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services Sector – Marie-Flore Baptiste

Marie-Flore Baptiste was appointed to the positions of Chief Human Resources Officer and Assistant Deputy Minister(ADM), Corporate Services on March 6, 2023. She has been with the Government of Canada for over 25 years.

Before joining IRCC she spent many years in various departments, primarily Canadian Heritage, National Defence, Public Services and Procurement Canada and many others. In 2021, she served as Chief Information Officer at the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council/Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council granting agencies, where she advanced the digitizing of information systems. Marie-Flore’s work experience has been in the line with her education, and positions held as a Director, Director General and now, ADM of Corporate Services. The focus has been on operational planning, transforming business functions and enabling them with technology, along with an additional focus on ensuring that we find efficiencies and effectiveness in our internal services.

She has a strong business acumen and broad experience, including procurement, finance, corporate management and human resources, providing strong leadership around key leadership competencies. Especially effective at mobilizing people, Marie-Flore fosters diversity and ensures the inclusion of all, including having served as Champion of the Black Employee Network at IRCC in 2021-2022. Marie-Flore is a strong advocate for the Black community and champion of Black youth. What makes her happy is being a mother, a partner and, having a child with Down Syndrome, she is a passionate advocate for disability and accessibility.

Marie-Flore has been recognized with a Deputy Minister Commendation – Innovation Award and received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of her volunteer work.

Assistant Deputy Minister, International Affairs & Crisis Response – Jennifer Macintyre

Jennifer MacIntyre was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister of the International Affairs and Crisis Response Sector at Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) October 2023. She is also the champion of the Middle Managers’ Network.

Jennifer was previously the Assistant Deputy Minister for Afghanistan, responsible for advancing Canada’s commitment to welcome at least 40,000 Afghan nationals to Canada.

Prior to this, she was Director of Operations for the Climate Secretariat at the Privy Council Office (PCO), responsible for leading horizontal collaboration across government to implement the government’s climate agenda. She has also served as Canada’s Ambassador for Climate Change.

Jennifer is a career diplomat and has held various executive positions at Global Affairs Canada, including Director General & Corporate Secretary and Director for Europe and Eurasia. She has also served as the Ambassador of Canada to Switzerland and in Washington, D.C. as the Chief of Staff to the Ambassador.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Carleton University and a Master in Public Administration from Queen’s University.

Assistant Deputy Minister, Citizenship & Passport – Perminder (Pemi) Gill

Pemi Gill is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience in the public service, all of which she has dedicated to IRCC. She began her career as a foreign service officer and has gained valuable experience overseas in Damascus and Hong Kong. Since 2019, Pemi played an integral role as Director General (DG) in the Operations Sector, leading the International Network (IN). During this time, she led departmental efforts to repatriate staff from abroad following the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as oversaw our global response to major humanitarian crises, including those in Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Sudan.

Additionally, Pemi has significant experience in the development and delivery of complex IT solutions and services for a number of intergovernmental and multilateral projects. Before becoming DG of IN, she oversaw the teams engaged in expanding and rolling out the Global Case Management System and online services, as well as led the early stages of the Passport Program Modernization Project.

Pemi holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Cooperative Education from the University of Alberta with a major in Operations Management.

Assistant Deputy Minister, Settlement, Integration And Francophone Affairs – Catherine Scott

Catherine Scott was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister, Settlement, Integration and Francophone Affairs at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in March 2022. Her responsibilities span the Settlement and Resettlement assistance programs and coordination of the Department’s Francophone immigration commitments.

Catherine joined IRCC in 2019 as Director General, Refugee Affairs, and was then Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic and Program Policy before taking on her current role.

Prior to this, she spent a decade working at Employment and Social Development Canada on both labour market and social policy issues. During this time, she led a significant renewal of the federal homelessness program as part of the National Housing Strategy. Catherine led extensive consultations to develop the first Government of Canada social innovation and social finance strategy. She has also managed the Foreign Credential Recognition Program and launched the first federal initiative to support capacity-building in Black Canadian communities.

Catherine has also worked for the Commissioner of Official Languages, the Privy Council Office and the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Catherine holds an honours Bachelor of Arts in French and International Studies from Glendon College, York University and an M.A. in International Relations from Université Laval. She is a graduate of the Government of Canada’s Direxion program and the Ivey Senior Public Sector Leader Program.

Chief Financial Officer – Nathalie Manseau

Nathalie Manseau (she/her) was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in May 2023.

Nathalie is a chartered professional accountant with 30 years’ experience who has been a public servant for the past 23 years. Over this time, she has held several financial management positions while occupying different executive roles at Canadian Heritage, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and most recently at Employment and Social Development Canada, as director general of Financial Management Advisory Services.

Nathalie holds a master’s degree in health administration from the University of Ottawa and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Université du Québec à Hull. In her free time, Nathalie loves to travel, and she appreciates time with her loved ones.

Assistant Deputy Minister, Asylum And Refugee Resettlement – Soyoung Park

Soyoung Park was appointed to the position of Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM), Asylum and Refugee Resettlement, in October 2023. Prior to this appointment, she held the role of ADM, Strategic and Program Policy Sector (SPP) leading efforts to advance citizenship and passport policy, admissibility policy, data and performance management and also lead the effort to provide proof of vaccination for international travel.

A senior executive with extensive operational, technical, and international experience, Soyoung was a Foreign Service officer and served at three of Canada’s largest operational offices (New Delhi, Beijing and Damascus) and she recently served as the Deputy High Commissioner (India) and Deputy Ambassador (Nepal, Bhutan) from 2017 to 2019. Soyoung was also IRCC’s Chief Information Officer and she successfully implemented IRCC’s core business systems including providing online services and integrating biometrics and decommissioned many legacy systems.

Soyoung has a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Alberta and is a recipient of the Public Service Award for Excellence in Innovation and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of her contributions to Canada.

Assistant Deputy Minister, Economic, Family And Social Immigration – Michèle Kingsley

Michèle Kingsley is a seasoned executive, with nearly twenty-five years of experience in the federal government. Notably, she has worked in policy, program, and central agency roles in the fields of environmental affairs, economic development, national security, and most recently immigration, refugees, and citizenship.

Michèle is currently the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Economic, Family and Social Immigration Sector at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. In this role, she is leading the development of immigration policies and programs to address economic development, labor market needs, and family reunification. This work is focused on federal and regional permanent residence programs, temporary foreign workers, and international students.

Prior to her current role, Michèle was Assistant Deputy Minister of Operations, where she led work related to ensuring the health and security of Canadians, safeguarding the integrity of the immigration system, shaping the asylum system, and resettling refugees.

Assistant Deputy Minister, Migration Integrity – Aiesha Zafar

Aiesha was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister, Migration Integrity, at IRCC in September 2023.

With over 20 years of experience in intelligence, national security and investigations at the federal and provincial levels, Aiesha has held positions such as liaison to the National Security Agency in Washington, chief of staff to the Ontario Deputy Solicitor General, executive lead for the Ontario Provincial Police’s Investigations and Organized Crime Command, and director general of Intelligence and Investigations at the Canada Border Services Agency. Immediately before joining IRCC, she delivered executive leadership programs to Government of Canada executives covering multiple subjects, including executive authorities, strategic leadership, innovation, diversity and inclusion, and complex project management.

Aiesha holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree in Finance from the University of Manitoba and a Master of Arts degree in War Studies from the Royal Military College. She is an active supporter of local women’s shelters, as well as health and education charities, and she teaches children’s dance classes in her spare time. Aiesha resides in and works out of the Greater Toronto Area.

Director General, Corporate Secretariat – Ivan Ndikuriyo

Ivan was appointed to the position of Director General, Corporate Secretariat in 2023. The Corporate Secretariat is a function added to the Department as part of the new organizational structure. Its role is to oversee corporate governance, briefings, proactive disclosure and ministerial enquiries, which includes developing and implementing the corporate governance structure, providing a departmental-wide perspective to the Deputy Minister regarding the management of internal and external interactions, as well as leading responses and strategies on issues that affect the whole Department.

Prior to this role Ivan was the Senior Director, focusing on the Strategic Immigration Review, and played an integral role in the engagement, policy and research work, and development of the report that lays out a pathway to strengthen our immigration system. Before that, he worked at Indigenous Services Canada as the Director of Emergency Management, aiding partners during major wildfires and floods.

Ivan is known for his adaptability, aptitude for resolving complex and sensitive issues, as well as extensive experience building relationships with senior officials.

Ivan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Ethics from the University of Ottawa.

Director General, Equity Branch – Michael Farrell

Michael first joined IRCC in 2007 as an assistant director in the Policy Sector for Temporary Foreign Workers and then as an acting director of Social Policy. He returned to the Department in 2019, and most recently was the Senior Director, Strategic Business Integration in the Corporate Services Sector. While in this role, Michael also supported the Anti-Racism Task Force in developing the accountability and transparency framework of the Anti-Racism Strategy 2.0.

Michael has had an expansive career across the private, non-profit and public sectors. He has been an advocate and lobbyist, representing the Canadian Human Rights Institute of Canada and the National Anti-Poverty Organization. Michael is passionate about human rights advocacy and, through his work, has championed equity-based approaches, addressed homelessness and labour market barriers, supported protection for marginalized groups and for Indigenous reconciliation efforts.

Chief Audit Executive – Nicole Primeau

Chief Audit Executive with IRCC since January 4, 2022. She is also the Senior Officer for Internal Disclosure and is responsible for the Evaluation Office. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant and Certified Internal Auditor with over 20 years of experience in the areas of internal audit, accounting, finance, risk management and governance. She held several senior leadership positions with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard, and the Office of the Comptroller General, including Deputy Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Audit Executive.

Senior General Counsel, Office Of The Senior General Counsel Legal Service – Caroline Fobes

Ms. Fobes was appointed Executive Director and Senior General Counsel of the IRCC Legal Services Unit in 2016. The Legal Services Unit is composed of over 40 lawyers and paralegals who, in consultation with Justice colleagues in Ottawa and litigation teams across the country, provide all of the day-to-day legal advice to the Department including advice on departmental operations, development of policies and new legislation, and the conduct of litigation before the courts.

Ms. Fobes began her career at the Department of Justice (DOJ) as Solicitor General Legal, moved to DOJ Headquarters supporting the Assistant Deputy Attorney General (Criminal Law), and then returned to Public Safety Legal where she spent several years including as Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Dalhousie University and recently completed Harvard Law School Executive Education Programs: Transforming Client Relationships through Innovation; and Leading the Law Firm of the Future. She is a member of the Law Society of Ontario.