Victor Rabinovitch was the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (2000 – 2011), which is responsible for two of Canada’s national museums: the

Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History (french: Musée canadien de l’histoire) is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of C ...

and the

Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (french: link=no, Musée canadien de la guerre; CWM) is a national museum on the country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military history, in a ...

. Before joining the Corporation, Rabinovitch was Assistant Deputy Minister, Income Security Programs, at

Human Resources Development Canada The Department of Human Resources Development, also referred to as Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), was a department of the Government of Canada with the responsibility over a wide portfolio of social services. HRDC was based at a gove ...

, a department of the federal government. This Branch is responsible for the administration of the national public pension programs in Canada's social security system (

Old Age Security The Old Age Security (OAS) (SV; french: Sécurité de la vieillesse) program is a universal retirement pension available to most residents and citizens of Canada who have reached 65 years old. This pension is supplemented by the Guaranteed Income ...

, Guaranteed Income Supplement, the

Canada Pension Plan The Canada Pension Plan (CPP; french: Régime de pensions du Canada) is a contributory, earnings-related social insurance program. It forms one of the two major components of Canada's public retirement income system, the other component being Old ...

and the CPP Disability pension). From 1995 to 1998, Rabinovitch served as Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Development and Heritage, in the

Department of Canadian Heritage The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage (french: Patrimoine canadien), is the department of the Government of Canada that has roles and responsibilities related to initiatives that promote and support "Canadian identity ...

. He was responsible for policies and programs in broadcasting, cinema, publishing, sound recording, copyright, museums and performing arts. He led the departmental team responsible for the modernization of Canada's Copyright Act, and the implementation of programs to assist book publishing, film and television production, museums and national cultural training institutions. Rabinovitch began his federal public service career in 1982 as a member of the Task Force on Atlantic Fisheries. He subsequently became an Assistant Deputy Minister at

Fisheries and Oceans Canada Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO; french: Pêches et Océans Canada, MPO), is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and sc ...

, where he served in a variety of capacities including economic policy, inspection, enforcement and international relations. He was also the senior public servant responsible for the efforts by Canada to stop foreign over-fishing. Before joining the federal public service, Rabinovitch specialized in labour issues, serving as National Secretary for Workplace Health and Safety with the

Canadian Labour Congress The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC (french: Congrès du travail du Canada, link=no or ) is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated. History Formation The CLC was ...

from 1978 to 1982. From 1976 to 1978, he served as executive director, Manitoba Department of Labour. Rabinovitch holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

and a Doctorate from

Sussex University , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. His publications include: “Method and Success in Canada's Cultural Policies” in the

Queen's Quarterly ''Queen's Quarterly'' is a Canadian quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of cultural studies that was established in 1893 by, among others, George Munro Grant, Sanford Fleming, and John Watson, all of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario ...

(Summer, 1999) and “Museums Facing the Trudeau Challenge” in Canadian Issues (October, 2003). He is a Fellow of the School of Policy Studies at

Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to: *Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK **Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950) **Queen's University of Belfast ...

; Board member of the City of

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

Economic Development Corporation; Chairman, Friends of the

International Council for Canadian Studies The International Council for Canadian Studies is a federation of twenty-one national and multi-national Canadian Studies associations and six associate members in thirty-nine countries. Established in 1981, the Council operates in both official la ...

; and a member of the Canadian Art Museum Directors’ Organization. Rabinovitch was named CEO of the Year in the para-public sector by the Regroupement des gens d’affaires de la Capitale nationale in 2005. In October 2006, he received the Award of Merit from the

Association for Canadian Studies The Association for Canadian Studies is a non-profit organization, founded at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, in 1973. Its activities are conducted in both official languages of Canada. Through the organization, its individual and institut ...

for his outstanding contribution, and that of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, to the dissemination of knowledge of Canada’s history. He is married with two children.Information provided by the Office of the President, Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, August 2007.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabinovitch, Victor Directors of museums in Canada Canadian civil servants Year of birth missing (living people) Living people McGill University alumni Alumni of the University of Sussex