Mohamed Elmufti

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Originally I'm from the Sudan, but right now I've been in Ottawa for the last ten years.

I'm involved in both the diagnostic laboratories and the technology development laboratories. I'm actually a go-between the two. In the diagnostic lab we have certain diseases that we test for—for animals for import/export certification purposes.

Ultimately we're looking for that needle in a haystack. For example, there could be a certain low level of organism in any hatchery or whatnot. We're making sure that we can detect that.

Our main basis is to be able to ensure food is ultimately safe to the consumer, to the Canadian public. They want to know that they are being safeguarded. And that's our mission.

And I feel that we have a lot of talent in the agency, we have a lot of expertise. But the experts are retiring soon and the younger generation—there's a vast talent pool, and they need to be nurtured and guided towards the expert positions. I'm fairly career oriented and I have some goals in mind and I'd like to attain those goals.

There are many, many career opportunities and many advancement opportunities within the Agency, and it's so diverse that you can branch out into various fields. People's careers change, they evolve and you can evolve.

Knowing that you're actually making a difference every day you come into work, that you're actually part of a big picture, you're not just doing a job. There's a real sense of pride and satisfaction in the job that you do and it's not just on a monetary basis, but also on a personal level.

I definitely see myself doing this for many years to come.