Rita Burak
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Burak was born in New Jersey, United States[2] and moved to Canada in 1968.[3] She started as a private secretary in industry, and then began as a secretary for the Ontario Legislative Assembly in 1970.[4] She returned to get her bachelor's degree in political science,[5] which she received from Atkinson College, York University in 1977.[6] By 1982 she was the executive director of finance and administration at the Ontario Ministry of Labor.[4] In 1995 Burak was named as the head of civil service,[7] and she held the position of secretary of the Cabinet for the Government of Ontario from 1995 to 2000.[8][3] When Burak interviewed with Mike Harris, the newly-elected premier of Ontario for the cabinet secretary position, she brought a copy of his plan that had been written out as the Common Sense Revolution and said she could implement the plan.[9] Her being appointed as cabinet secretary has been described as "an expression of the confidence in the public service's professionalism".[10] Harris was impressed by her interest in working on his plans,[11]: 101 and she was appointed as cabinet secretary with five days of Harris's election and in her new job she guided the transition team.[12] She was the first woman to serve as Ontario's cabinet secretary.[13] She was known for her focus on reducing duplicative efforts across offices, consolidating services within the ministry,[14] and doing so in a financially responsible manner.[15][16] While serving in the role of cabinet secretary, Burak opted to not vote in elections in order to maintain political neutrality in the public service.[2][16]: 249 The Globe and Mail columnist John Ibbitson wrote in 2000 that "Cabinet secretaries are always powerful, if unquoted, figures in government, but few were more powerful than Ms. Burak."[17]
Previously, she was Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs[17][18] and Assistant Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Housing.[when?]
When Burak stepped down as cabinet secretary she started a private consulting firm, The Network Executive Team.[19]
Burak was appointed chair of Hydro One in 2003, serving first as an interim chair,[20][21] and ultimately as chair until she stepped down in 2008.[22] She also served as the chair of eHealth Ontario, stepping in to head the agency when issues arose about contracts with consultants,[23][24] and continued to provide reports on means to improve the efficiency of agencies within the province of Ontario as recently as 2011.[25]
Awards
Burak is a recipient of the Order of Ontario (2001)[26] and the Canadian Public Policy Forum's Annual Testimonial Award (2004).[27]