Minister Hussen announces appointment of Chair of the Immigration Refugee Board

Statement

Ottawa, July 16, 2018 – The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, issued the following statement:

“I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Richard Wex as the Chair of the Immigration and Refugee Board, for a five year term, effective Monday, July 23, 2018.

“Mr. Wex is a senior executive and former Deputy Minister with the federal public service. Known for achieving results, for collaborating with partners, and for his integrity, Mr. Wex has successfully assumed increasing levels of executive responsibility across a broad range of portfolios over his twenty-five year career.

“Mr. Wex brings a strong legal, policy operational and management skill set to the position of Chair of the IRB. His background as a senior lawyer with the Department of Justice, combined with his experience at senior levels in both immigration and border services over the past decade provide him with a breadth of knowledge and relevant government experience necessary for addressing the issues at hand, and for the effective management of the IRB.

“Prior to his appointment as Chair of the Immigration Refugee Board, Mr. Wex served as the Associate Deputy Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) from 2015-2018. In this capacity he provided executive leadership to “Operation Syrian Refugee”, a national initiative that welcomed more than 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada; oversaw the ambitious multi-year immigration levels plan, representing the highest sustained level of immigration in Canada’s history, and most recently led the Department’s operational response to the irregular migrant movement at our border.

“Prior to joining IRCC, Mr. Wex served as Vice-President of the Canada Border Services Agency; Assistant Deputy Minister at the Department of Public Safety and in various senior executive positions at Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Department of Justice.

“Mr. Wex holds a Bachelor of Laws degree (L.L.B) from Queen’s University and is a member of the Law Society of Ontario. He is a recipient of both the Public Service Award of Excellence as a well as the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal of recognition for his contributions to Canada.

“I also wish to take this opportunity to thank outgoing Chair Mario Dion for his leadership of the IRB over the past few years and Paul Aterman who has served as Acting Chair over the past number of months.

“I look forward to working with the new Chair as we continue to strengthen Canada’s asylum determination system.”

Contacts

For further information (media only), please contact:

Mathieu Genest
Minister’s Office
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
613-954-1064

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