Profile - Diane Kirkpatrick

This content was archived on June 24, 2013.

My Career

At the start of my career I worked briefly at the Department of National Defence doing quality control of petroleum products and accident investigation. It was very interesting but I wanted to work in the public health area and at the time, I wanted to do research. I applied for a research position at Health Canada and I was successful. From this point on I had many interesting opportunities at the department. Here is the story of how my career at Health Canada evolved:

Current Position

Title: Former Director General, Veterinary Drugs Directorate
Education: Bachelor of Science with honours
Number of Years in the Workforce: 35+
Number of Years at Health Canada: 33

My Experience at Health Canada

My career at Health Canada exposed me to so many different types of work. I started my career at the department working in research, analyzing foods for heavy metals. Afterwards, I moved on to evaluation, assessing and establishing standards for a range of chemicals in foods; including chemical contaminants, food additives, pesticides and food packaging materials. In this area, I worked as a scientific evaluator and then moved up the line as a Section Head and, subsequently, as the Chief of the Division.

Having worked now as both a researcher and an evaluator, I was convinced that these areas could forge stronger linkages to support the work of the department and I had the opportunity to translate that conviction into action when I accepted the position of Director, Bureau of Chemical Safety in the Food Directorate. This was my first time working as an Executive and I thrived working at this level; I later moved on to more senior roles across the department.

As a senior executive, I touched everything from health promotion programs related to breast cancer, AIDS and mental health to the department's Decision Making Framework, right through to its veterinary drugs program.

The experiences I've had with the department as a researcher, scientific evaluator, program manager, policy advisor and senior executive have made for a truly interesting and rewarding career. This work has been important to me because, as hokey as it sounds, I do feel a real commitment to public health and serving Canadians.

Career Timeline

Job Profile	The Story
1971-1975 Researcher/Chemist Health Canada Ottawa	My work was primarily dedicated to establishing a laboratory and to analyzing foods for heavy metals.
1975-1980 Scientific Evaluator Health Canada Ottawa	I made the switch from research to evaluation. My team was responsible for setting important standards in food safety. Here I was part of a team whose work led to the elimination of lead-soldered cans for baby foods and the establishment of standards for lead in canned foods - a 1st in the world.
1980-1982 Section Head Health Canada Ottawa	I continued my work in food safety evaluation and I was promoted to Section Head.
1982-1985 Division Chief Health Canada Ottawa	I became Division Chief in 1982. I was responsible for assessment and standard setting with respect to food additives, contaminants, pesticides and packaging materials in food.
1985-1992 Director, Bureau of Chemical Safety Health Canada Ottawa	This was my first position as an executive. As director of the Bureau of Chemical Safety I was responsible for scientific evaluation and research (chemistry and toxicology) pertaining to chemicals in food. The Bureau of Chemical Safety addressed food safety issues. Our research and evaluation team forged strong linkages as we looked at dioxins, mycotoxins, pesticides, etc. and dealt with crisis issues such as vomitoxin in wheat and domoic acid in mussels. As Bureau Director, I had the opportunity to serve as Head of the Canadian delegation to international meetings and I was an invited expert at international meetings dealing with chemicals in food/food safety. I conducted hundreds of media interviews including national TV, radio and print media - all relating to food safety.
1992-1998 Director General, Strategies and Systems for Health Health Canada Ottawa	As Director General, I was responsible for health promotion and program activities regarding breast cancer, AIDS, mental health and other health issues. As Director General, I had the opportunity to work extensively with a broad group of stakeholders and interested parties including the provinces/territories, Non Government Organizations, other government agencies, academia and industry sectors. With their input, we helped to develop strategic approaches/responses to critical health and safety issues. We produced the first Report on the Health of Canadians endorsed by all thirteen jurisdictions and we developed and successfully implemented the Canadian Breast Cancer Initiative (1992- 1998).
1998-2000 Senior Policy Advisor, Health Protection Branch Health Canada Ottawa	This assignment was quite different from what I had done in the past but nonetheless critical. I was responsible for implementing Health Canada's Decision Making Framework.
2001-2005 Director General, Veterinary Drugs Directorate Health Canada Ottawa	This was my last position as a public servant and it was very rewarding. We worked to ensure the safety and efficacy of drugs for pets and livestock, as well as the safety of any food product derived from animals treated with drugs. We effectively rebuilt the veterinary drugs program... this was a major contribution and a major achievement.