Public Health Agency of Canada gets new president as current one steps down

Dr. Bogoch on rising subvariant cases Infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch discusses the rise of Omicron subvariants and if there will be another COVID-19 wave soon.

Ottawa — The Public Health Agency of Canada is getting a new president as the country heads into the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has tapped Iain Stewart, currently head of the National Research Council of Canada, to take over the role.

Last week, the federal public health agency's president, Tina Namiesniowski, announced she was stepping down.

She sent a letter to the agency's staff saying that after months of responding to the health crisis, "none of us are superhuman" and that she needed a break.

Stewart, who has been a senior member of the public service for about 20 years, aside from a yearlong stint at Dalhousie University, will begin his new job Sept. 28.

Trudeau also gave Namiesniowski a new job as a senior official in the Privy Council Office, a bureaucratic operation that supports the prime minister and cabinet.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2020.