Local News
Community leader Brian Scharfstein recipient of 2022 Queen’s Jubilee Medal
Last November, long-time downtown Winnipeg retailer Brian Scharfstein was a recipient of the 2022 Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee medal, presented annually to Manitobans who have made meaningful contributions to the community. The award was presented to the long-time downtown business owner and community leader by Dr. Jon Gerrard, the Member of the Legislature for River Heights alongside nine other recipients of the award in Gerrard’s riding.
“I was taken aback by the honor,” says Scharfstein. “It was certainly unexpected and humbling.”
Although Scharfstein has held some more visible leadership positions – notably serving as chair of our Jewish community’s Grow Winnipeg initiative as well as chair of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, and is currently a board member of the Mount Carmel Clinic Foundation, he generally prefers to fly under the radar in terms of his efforts in helping others.
“More than money, though, I give of my time,” he points out. “When I get involved in something, I really get involved.”
For the most part though, the president of Canadian Footwear prefers to follow the Torah’s precept that the ideal form of charity is to give of yourself anonymously. Scharfstein says that he looks to his late father, Albert: “Dad always showed compassion and concern for people in need,” Brian Scharfstein recalls. “He tried never to turn down anyone who came to his door seeking a handout.
“That is the way that my three sisters and I were raised.”
Albert Scharfstein acquired Canadian Footwear in the downtown area around 1932. When Albert and his wife Ethel passed away within nine days of each other in 1987, Brian and his wife Pam purchased the business from the family estate.
Soon after the couple acquired the business, Brian Scharfstein started his education to become a Certified Canadian Pedorthist. Working together, Brian and Pam have built Canadian Footwear into a successful, family-owned business in Winnipeg. Today, Canadian Footwear operates four retail stores in Winnipeg and Calgary.
“One of the keys to our success,” Scharfstein notes, “is that we don’t just sell shoes and orthotics. We build relationships. Our goal is to provide a memorable experience for all of our customers and clients”
Scharfstein also follows his father’s example in trying never to turn down people in need. One of the ways in which the Scharfstein family helps those in need is through the family charity program, “Fit on the Street”.
We receive referrals from missions, churches, inner city schools, and resource centers,” he notes. “We try to make sure that no one – whether they be homeless or a newly arrived refugee – has to go without proper footwear”.
“We believe that everyone who comes into our store should be treated with dignity.”
Canadian Footwear is a life member of the industry’s Two Ten Foundation SOS program. “Through this program, we have given away thousands of pairs of shoes,” Scharfstein says. “The foundation receives shipments of footwear that have been turned back for whatever reason by manufactures, importers and other retailers. We are the prairie distributor of this footwear.”
Another important focus for Scharfstein is helping to create a safer downtown in an effort to encourage more shoppers to return there. As part of that effort, Scharfstein has been representing small and medium retailers in Manitoba in a national pilot program – authored by the Retail Council of Canada – called Operation Safe Shop. The pilot project begun three years ago – focused on facilitating better collaboration between retailers, police, and the courts, and is now moving to Phase 2. With over 100 retail storefronts submitting data through the platform, more than 600 incidents reported, and just over 60 repeat offenders identified, the Retail Council of Canada is now working with Winnipeg Police Service, RCMP, and Brandon Police analysts to focus on the most prolific offenders.
In his own stores, Scharfstein has introduced a policy whereby everyone who comes into one of the stores is asked his or her first name and offered a personal shopper – although customers can still browse on their own.
“We haven’t been able to completely eliminate shoplifting,” he concedes, “but these new measures have made a noticeable difference. We employ a lot of people in our organization. We consider every one of them like family. We are responsible for their safety as well as the safety of our customers.”
Brian Scharfstein, the community activist has just stepped down from 5 years serving as the civilian member of the Winnipeg Police Board. As well, a few months back, he appointed David Stern as the company’s new general manager and has stepped back from the day-to-day operation of Canadian Footwear. At 70, the now semi-retired Scharfstein – while still available to mentor new pedorthic practitioners and consult with administrative matters – finds that he has more time on his hands for community service.
The Scharfstein family’s newest initiative, he says, is in support of a group that is trying to open a self-sustaining clothing and footwear depot focused on helping the homeless. “Much of our philanthropic giving is based on our not receiving any recognition and that applies in this case, too,” Scharfstein notes. The concept will be modelled after the successful North End Women’s Centre’s 20-year-old Up Shoppe, a women’s co-op that provides clothing for a small fee for those who can afford – and at no charge for those who can’t. This facility/store will provide those in need with clothing, footwear, and personal hygiene necessities.
“We are currently looking for a location in which to open the store,” Scharfstein adds.
Local News
Adam Buchwald Competes for Canada at the World Junior Speed Skating Championships
By MYRON LOVE Winnipeg-born speedskater Adam Buchwald has had a season to remember. At the start of the Long Track Speed Skating Season last fall, the 19-year-old second-year student at the University of Calgary had one goal: to qualify for the World Junior Speed Skating Championships.
Mission accomplished.
In December, at the Canadian Junior Championships in Fort St. John, BC, Buchwald won gold in the 5000m, becoming Canadian Junior Champion in that distance. This, combined with his performance in the 3 other distances in which he raced, resulted in Buchwald placing 3rd overall out of the field of the top 30 Junior athletes in Canada and was named to the Canadian National Junior Team.
Along with three other men and four women, Buchwald represented Canada at the World Junior Championships and the Junior World Cup, which were both held in Collalbo, Italy from January 31 – February 9, 2025. At the World Junior Championships – against the world’s best, Buchwald placed 14th overall out of the field of over 65 athletes.
Buchwald, the son of Richard Buchwald and Tracy Leipsic, began speedskating at the age of 4, when he insisted on doing the same activity as his older sisters, Rachael and Serena. His mother was his first coach. Leipsic, a decorated speedskater in her own right, represented Manitoba and was a medalist at the Canada Winter Games in 1987. Once her speedskating career ended, Leipsic turned to coaching and officiating, through which she has served as an inspiration for many Manitoba speedskaters over the years, including her son.
Buchwald says that as he has progressed to the high-performance level of the sport, his mother has always been able to strike the right balance between former coach and mentor. In a 2023 interview, Buchwald was quoted as saying, “My mom has always been a really good mentor. If she’s coaching, then she’s a coach before a parent, and if she’s not my coach, she’s always a parent before coach. I think that’s been really helpful and a really good influence on me.”
The competitive side of Adam started when he was 10 years old. In his younger years, Adam was a national level Short Track speedskater. Short Track is skated on a 111 metre oval while Long Track takes place on a 400 metre oval.
It wasn’t until high school that Buchwald decided to focus exclusively on Long Track speed skating, where he specializes in the longer distances. At the senior level, the longest distance raced is 10,000m. This is not a distance that is raced at the Junior level. Nevertheless, Buchwald has always wanted to try the 10,000. After repeatedly asking his coaches for the opportunity, he finally got his wish in January 2023, at the outdoor oval at the Cindy Klassen Rec, Centre in Winnipeg. Buchwald not only survived the gruelilng distance, he broke the track record set way back in 1992. Buchwald has only had two other opportunities to skate the 10,000m in competition since then, most recently placing 5th at the Senior National Canada Cup in Quebec at the beginning of March. Buchwald was the top Junior skater in 3 races – the 1500m (13th), 5000m (9th) and 10000m races, involving over 30 of Canada’s top skaters.
Buchwald trains six days per week, twice a day, at the Olympic Oval in Calgary, where he is coached by former Winnipegger and 4-time Olympian, Mike Ireland.
He recently had to take time off from his regular routine to have a minor heart procedure. However, Buchwald reports that he is now good to go and has resumed his training.
Buchwald has certainly had an exciting season, from being crowned National Champion to realizing a goal of representing Canada at the World Championships. One of Buchwald’s many goals is to pursue a career in speedskating and compete in the Olympic Games for Team Canada.
Local News
Former Winnipegger Benjie Cooperband hoping to return Mezieritcher shul name plate to our community
By MYRON LOVE I grew up in the late 1950s and the 1960s in the old North End – the corner of Prichard and Powers specifically. At the time, there were four Orthodox shuls within walking distance of my house – one of which was the Ateres Yisroel – also known as the Mezericher shul – because many of its members – including my baba’s best friends, Pete and Faiga Goldman – were among the founding members.
Another of those founding families was the Cooperband family. About a month ago, I got an email from Benjie Cooperband with an interesting store to tell.
Cooperband, who is an oral surgeon in Toronto, told me that he has the sign – the name plate – from the Mezericher shul. In a labour of love, he has spent the past year restoring the sign and is now looking for a Jewish institution in Winnipeg which may be willing to display it.
The Mezericher Shul was founded in 1912 on Powers near Manitoba. In the late 1930s, the congregation moved about a block away to the former Jewish Old Folks Home on Manitoba near Salter. In 1976, the congregation merged with the Hebrew Sick Benefit Association to form the Beth Israel in Garden City. In 2002, the Beth Israel merged with the Rosh Pina and Bnay Abraham congregation to create Congregation Etz Chayim.
Cooperband reports that, at its peak, the Mezericher shul had about 250 members.
“I always loved to go to shul,” says the former Winnipegger.
His zaida, Beryl Cooperband, he says, always sat next to the bima overlooking the congregation, while his baba, Faiga, in the ladies;’ section upstairs. every now and then began clapping for quiet when it got too noisy.
“At shul, I would sit with my father (Mickey Cooperband) at the front overlooking the crowds. We sat at Zaida Beryl’s standard seat where he used to keep his Tallis and machzer. I have them to this day in my house as a memory of my zaida.”
Every year, he remembers, there would be a bidding war for the privilege of reading Parsha Jonah – a competition that his baba always won.
He also recounts standing on occasion at the gate of the Hebrew Sick Cemetery with his baba when burials were to take place. His baba would solicit donations for Hadassah as people were coming in or leaving.
“She got them coming or going,” he quips. “My dad also collected donations for Hadassah from his customers at Silverman Jewelers. Everyone marvelled at how this little old lady always managed to be Hadassah’s top fund raiser in Winnipeg.”
Growing up in Garden City, Benjie Cooperband attended Talmud Torah and Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate before finishing high school at the University of Winnipeg Collegiate. He earned his dental degree from the University of Manitoba in 1981. Initially, he bought Dr. Jack Rosove’s practice at the corner of Selkirk and Salter.
After a couple of years, Cooperband returned to school and became an oral surgeon. He has been living in Toronto for the past 40 years.
After the Mezericher Shul closed in 1976, Cooperbanjd reports that his father moved the sign that stood outside into the top floor of the Silverman Jewelers store. Cooperband closed the store in 1981. A couple of years later, the Silverman Building was expropriated and Mickey Cooperband passed away shortly after. Benjie reports that his younger brother, Joel, took the sign home and stored it in his garage for the next 40 years.
(Joel Cooperband sadly passed away last October.)
About a year ago, Benjie, now semi-retired, took the sign back with him to Toronto and restored it to its former glory. Now, he is trying to find a more permanent home for this piece of Winnipeg history.
He notes that a Chabad rabbi who is planning on building a new shul in Toronto has expressed interest in incorporating the 12 foot long and 2,5 feet high sign into the new shul. Cooperband, however, says that he thinks it would be more appropriate to have the sign on display in Winnipeg.
“I have been in touch with Stan Carbone from the Jewish Heritage Centre who has said that the JHC would be willing to store the sign,” Cooperband says, “But I am hoping to make contact with a community institution that would be willing to put it where it can be seen.”
He is open to suggestions from readers. Readers can contact him at drbencoop@gmail.com.
Incidentally, Benji Cooperband is still a regular shul goer and attends a shul in Toronto – the Kiever Shul – a modern Orthodox congregation which, like the Mezericher shul – has the bimah in the middle, with men sitting around it on the main floor and women in the balcony upstairs.
“I still love going to shul,” he says. “And it’s nice having my children coming with me.”
Local News
Ben Carr visits Simkin Centre
The Liberal candidate for Winnnipeg South Centre, Ben Carr, visited the Simkin Centre Personal Care Home on Thursday, April 2. While there he met with many residents in the atrium of the centre.
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