Ontario Culture Vulture

The following is an account of CC's career in the Ontario Public Service and was posted on the government intranet by CC's colleagues:

Catherine Ciavarella passed away on June 6, 2010. Many of you will remember Catherine. She was very passionate and knowledgeable about her work in culture and with the ministry’s agencies. Catherine was a great lover of art, architecture, and design and was devoted to the not-for-profit sector. She loved film and was an avid Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) attendee. Her contributions were appreciated and she will be missed.


Catherine began her OPS career in November 2000. She often told colleagues about her first day of work, eagerly arriving on Remembrance Day to discover that provincial offices were closed. Before joining the OPS, Catherine was the Executive Director of the Kingston chapter of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI).

Neil Downs was a technical advisor on the interview panel when Catherine was hired. Neil’s lead file was the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF). John Shipman was the Manager of the Voluntary Initiatives Unit with the Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation and he recruited Catherine to provide additional policy advisor support and back up on the OTF file. Soon after she was hired, Neil began a secondment as Manager, Corporate Policy and Catherine became the key policy advisor to the OTF.

In February 2001, the ministry was reorganized and Catherine moved with the OTF file to MGS before returning to the Culture Agencies Unit managed by Shirley Phillips. While working with Shirley, Catherine led a major program review of OTF and then took on the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) portfolio, working closely with the gallery during the Transformation AGO project. She became extremely knowledgeable about the ‘world’ of agencies. During this time, Catherine also chaired the ministry’s Discovery Awards. She mentored interns and summer students, and made it a unique experience for all of them. Catherine was the organizer of all staff birthday celebrations, parties, social events (which usually involved after hours martinis), baseball and the annual Academy Awards staff lottery.

In November 2004, Neil Downs followed Shirley as Manager of the Culture Agencies Unit. Catherine became lead Agency Coordinator for the Royal Botanical Gardens. From 2004 to May 2007, Neil relied on Catherine as the Unit’s most senior Agency Coordinator. In addition to the RBG, she continued to work with the OTF and AGO. Later, Catherine became the lead Agency Coordinator for the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) as they underwent their significant Renaissance ROM capital renovation. Catherine continued as MCL’s social convenor, organizing the popular “Tapas Tuesdays”.

In 2007, the Culture Liaison Unit was established, managed by Suzanne Rowe Knight. Catherine was a member of this ‘small but mighty’ team continuing her work with the AGO, OTF, RBG and ROM. Eventually, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection was added to her portfolio. Over the years, Catherine was involved with most of the ministry’s cultural agencies in some capacity. She also worked with many areas of the ministry and the OPS. Catherine was a member of the Corporate Resources Branch Performance Measures Team, and represented the Unit at the inter-ministerial Agency Coordinators’ Forum meetings. She worked closely with the Sports, Culture and Tourism Partnerships Secretariat on the AGO, RBG and ROM capital projects, and with the Legal Services Branch on numerous Foreign Cultural Objects Immunity from Seizure requests to protect cultural objects while on exhibition in Ontario.

Catherine was absolutely passionate about her files. She had a firm understanding of relevant agency legislation and directives, most importantly the Agency Establishment and Accountability Directive, and she worked hard on behalf of the cultural agencies to ensure central agencies, particularly MBS/MGS, provided the support needed so that these important cultural institutions would grow and prosper.

We are coordinating a donation to the Princess Margaret Hospital in memory of Catherine. If you would like to join us, please contact Ann Kavanagh in the Culture Agencies Branch before Tuesday, June 15th. Ann can be reached by phone at 416-314-7610 or email at ann.kavanagh@ontario.ca

Our thoughts and sympathies are with Catherine’s family, friends and colleagues.

Steven Davidson

ADM, Culture Division

In Tribute

On the day of her funeral, Barb, Connie, Hilary, Rhonda and I remember our dear friend:

- She was foremost a creative person. A trained artist, she loved beauty in all forms, from art to music to film to architecture.
- She placed family first: she was a devoted daughter and aunt, and loved her mother and her nephews above all.
- She was a loyal, loyal friend. She had tremendous compassion, sharing in both the happiness and sadness of her friends and co-workers.
- She new how important it was to mark life’s progress. She remembered everyone’s birthdays, including her own.
- She was vivacious, with an enormous sense of fun. She had a fabulous wit, loved to laugh, and found humour in the most mundane.
- She was passionate and intelligent, and liked to debate and discuss.
- She knew how precious life was, and as a result engaged in life full throttle. She understood how to make moments matter, and then held them dear to her heart.
- She had a love for culture. She had enormous pride in contributing to the renaissance of the AGO and ROM.
- Her perfect day was a ride on her bike, a dip in water and some sunshine on her body.
- She was elegant, with a distinct personal style and beauty.
- She loved to dance.
- She didn’t covet a large amount of material possessions; rather, just a few things of quality and meaning.
- She had a great sense of place, and was equally home in Hamilton, Kingston and Toronto.

UPDATE: Read more tributes to Catherine here: http://www.meaningfulfunerals.net/fh/obituaries/tributes.cfm?o_id=635052&fh_id=12177&s_id=CE9E7BAB263055CF8620E9F5008FB698

Now at Peace

It is with devastating sadness that we announce together that Catherine passed away early this morning. Catherine fought her disease as she lived her life, fearlessly, refusing to give up until the very end.

A visitation is planned for Tuesday, June 8 at Friscolanti Funeral Home (43 Barton St. East near James) in Hamilton from 2-4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m.

The funeral will be held at St. Eugene's Roman Catholic Church (232 Queenston Road at Parkdale Avenue N.) in Hamilton on Wednesday, June 9 at 10 a.m.

We encourage everyone to share their memories with Catherine on this website, so that we may mourn collectively and celebrate her life together.

UPDATE: Read Catherine's obituary here: http://www.lifenews.ca/thespec/profile/100322--ciavarella-catherine-ann

UPDATE: Catherine's obituary in the Kingston Whig-Standard: http://yourlifemoments.ca/sitepages/obituary.asp?oId=398147