Rakesh Patry was appointed Director-General of International and Intergovernmental Labour Affairs for the Government of Canada’s Department of Employment and Social Development (ESDC) in October 2014. In this capacity, he is responsible for overseeing all of the Government’s international labour activities, including the negotiation and implementation of labour provisions in Canada’s Free Trade Agreements, technical assistance programming, and Canadian engagement in multilateral labour fora such as the International Labour Organization (ILO). Previously, Mr. Patry was Director of International Policy and Agreements for ESDC where he served as the Government of Canada’s lead negotiator of international social security agreements from 2008 to 2014.