A former Nova Scotia deputy minister of agriculture and fisheries has come back to the post as the incumbent gets ready for a change of scene.
Premier Darrell Dexter on Aug. 6 named Paul Lafleche as acting deputy minister of the departments of agriculture and fisheries and aquaculture, replacing Rosalind Penfound.
Penfound, a lawyer by profession, first served a stint at the top ag bureaucrat’s post in 2004, having previously served as assistant deputy minister of environment and labour. She also previously served as deputy education minister (2010-12).
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She’ll serve as a deputy minister without portfolio until her Sept. 30 retirement date, the province said. In October, she starts a new job as principal of the Akerley campus (Dartmouth) and IT campus (Halifax) of Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC).
Lafleche, deputy ag minister from 2007 to 2012, is now expected oversee the ag department’s pending move outside of the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM).
The province announced in early 2012 it will relocate the ag department’s head office out of Halifax into the Truro/Bible Hill area — already home to about 140 ag staff, Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC) and a number of federal ag agencies and commodity groups.
Lafleche, while filling in as deputy ag minister, will also continue in his post as deputy minister of transportation and infrastructure renewal. — AGCanada.com Network
