CAEQ Structure

Located in Montreal, Canada, the CAEQ has a 9-member Executive Board. It is also made up of an accreditation committee consisting of seven experts and a staff of 5, who is trained to meet certification bodies's needs and requests.

Executive Board

The CAEQ Executive Board (The “Board”) oversees all the reference manuals, internal regulations, and policies that govern the organization’s activities. It reviews and adopts the technical norms developed by the Accreditation Committee or the CAEQ management, regarding the regulations implementing the accreditation process, the criteria and the policies that follow them. It also receives the reports and recommendations of the technical committees, including those submitted by the Accreditation Committee concerning the accreditation of certification bodies having joined the CAEQ accreditation program. It makes decisions about granting, extending and renewing the accreditation. It also decides whether the accreditation should be reduced, suspended or withdrawn.

The Executive Board is composed of members on one hand representing the various sectors of the agriculture and agro-food industry and on the other hand sitting on Reserved Designations and Added-Value Claims Board. The procedure leading to their appointment is provided for in article 12 of An Act Respecting Reserved Designations and Added-Value Claims. With the exception of the Chief Executive Officer, each member is appointed for a term of two years and can be reappointed on the expiry of their term. The information in parentheses gives the sector which nominated the individual.

The Board is comprised of the following persons:

  • François Pouliot, (producers of products that contain alcohol);
  • Kasey Moctezuma, (certification bodies);
  • Christine Jean, (processors);
  • Christine Chabot, (distributors);
  • Lucie Gionet, (producers);
  • Jean-Paul Lussiaà-Berdou, (Quebec government);
  • Mario Martel, (retailers);
  • Ariane Chénard, (consumers);
  • Denis Paul Bouffard, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Accreditation Committee

The CAEQ’s recommendations to administrative authorities are the result of decisions made by the Accreditation Committee, which is made up of the following individuals:

  • Danielle Brault, Chairwoman
  • Christine Dupuis
  • Julie Fréchette
  • Stéphane Gagnon
  • Christian Legault
  • Rachel Agricole
  • Christine Jean (CARTV observer)

Staff

The CAEQ’s Secretariat is made up of the following individuals:

  • Denis Paul Bouffard, General Manager*
  • Anass Soussi, Conformity Evaluation Officer*
  • Baudouin Niogret, reviewer and assessor*
  • Jeannine Okmeni, Quality Assurance Officer*
  • Martine Thériault, administrative assistant

* These individuals have lead auditor status.