Public Safety Steering Committee
Gaston Doucette is the National Director of Search and Rescue with the Canadian Coast Guard, where he leads the development, delivery, and oversight of Canada’s national maritime search and rescue (SAR) response regime. In this role, he is accountable for SAR policy, operational frameworks, service standards, and financial management, ensuring a high state of preparedness, readiness, and response across the country. He works closely with federal, provincial, territorial, Indigenous, and international partners to strengthen Canada’s SAR system and address emerging response challenges.
Prior to his appointment as National Director, Gaston served as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Commissioner of Operations at the Canadian Coast Guard, providing strategic advice on complex operational, policy, and organizational matters and representing the Coast Guard in interdepartmental initiatives. Earlier in his career, he held progressively senior leadership roles in human resources and corporate management at Public Safety Canada and Health Canada, where he specialized in workforce planning, data analytics, people management governance, and executive-level advisory services. His experience spans HR modernization, performance measurement, management accountability, and large-scale organizational initiatives.
Gaston began his public service career at the Canada Border Services Agency, supporting major transformation and policy initiatives at both the program and executive levels. He holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences from the University of Ottawa, is fully bilingual (English/French), and brings a data-informed, people-centred leadership approach to complex operational environments.