Local News
Chief Executive Officer of Simkin Centre Laurie Cerqueti assesses how things have changed more than six months into the pandemic
By BERNIE BELLAN As part of our continued commitment to reporting on how various agencies within the Jewish community are functioning during these exceptionally difficult times, from time to time we’ve been speaking with the heads of agencies that are directly involved with the senior population of our community.
We recently spoke with Laurie Cerqueti (pronounced Cherqueti, by the way), who’s now been in her role as CEO of the Simkin Centre for 19 months. Naturally, given all that’s happened, we wondered whether she had ever experienced anything nearly as difficult as what she – and the rest of the 250 staff at the Simkin Centre have been experiencing these past six months.
“I graduated from nursing in 1994,” Laurie said, “but nothing that I’ve ever done before comes close to what we’ve been going through these past six months.” (Prior to becoming CEO of the Simkin Centre, Laurie had been CEO of Meadowood Manor in Winnipeg.)
When I spoke with Laurie early in May – a month and a half after the lockdown of all Personal Care Homes in Manitoba had been put into effect, she described all the extra requirements that had been placed on PCH’s, including having to severely restrict access to the building; extra sanitation procedures; training of almost all staff in feeding and swallowing assistance; and so much more.
Despite the increased burdens that were placed on all PCH’s in the province, the only additional funding from the Provincial Government came in the form of “money to ensure facilities are in line with revised Manitoba Fire Code requirements, including provision of fire suppression systems and increased fire separation enhancements.”
In my May report on the Simkin Centre I noted the concern that Laurie had back then that, while PCH’s were going to have to shoulder extra financial burdens, there would be no additional assistance forthcoming from the Province:
“What about the financial situation for the Simkin Centre?” I wondered. “How different is it as a result of the pandemic?”
“There are a number of large costs for equipment and supplies – right when it started happening,” Laurie answered, “and there are ongoing costs.”
“And you mean Simkin will have to assume responsibility for those costs – and not the province?” I asked.
“I’m not confident that the province will fund partially or fully any of this,” Laurie said.
“Really – wow!” I said. “You mean it’s all going to fall on to the Personal Care Homes themselves to fund?”
“It could,” Laurie said. “I’m not confident”(that the province will provide the funding).
She added that, in addition to the extra costs imposed on PCH’s for equipment and supplies, “there are all these new rules – if you’ve traveled, you can’t come to work for 14 days; if you have any symptoms you have to go get swabbed, and then you have to have the A-OK, you can come back to work; or people that have pre-existing conditions aren’t able to work. So there are increased staffing costs that we are incurring.”
As it turned out, there wasn’t any more money made available to hire extra staff – even though workers at PCH’s were advised not to report for work if they had the slightest suspicion they might be sick. Further, the practice of workers moving between different PCH’s to fill vacant shifts was no longer allowed (quite understandably – in order to minimize the chances of community transmission of the virus).
In July, Julie Turenne-Maynard, executive director of MARCHE — The Manitoba Association of Residential and Community Care Homes for the Elderly — reported that the COVID-19 pandemic was “shining a spotlight on long-term care across the country and highlighting the consequences of a 10-year funding freeze in Manitoba.”
She said that “while Manitoba’s personal care homes have been largely fortunate in the fight against COVID-19 (and, as we’ve all seen since then, that assessment sadly proved quite wrong as PCH’s have been hit with outbreaks of the virus.) they have been chronically underfunded, despite increasing costs and needs from residents.”
Over the past 10 years, Turenne-Maynard noted, “dietary expenses at homes operated by MARCHE’s members have increased by 36 per cent and the cost of incontinence supplies increased by 50 per cent.”
Further, in the case of the Simkin Centre, the spiraling cost of kosher food – as we have noted many times before in this newspaper, has only added to the financial burden of the Jewish Personal Care Home.
Yet, despite all the pressures that the Simkin Centre has been facing, when I asked Laurie how she would describe morale among staff at the home, she said “staff morale has been very good to excellent”.
Laurie described the many ways in which members of the boards of the Simkin Centre Home Board and Foundation Board and residents’ relatives have gone above and beyond in attempting to express their appreciation to the staff. For instance, there have been weekly treats provided to staff – paid for by individual board members, residents and family members (with occasional donations from organizations such as the Gwen Secter Centre); t-shirts emblazoned with the Simkin Centre logo and the words “Simkin Strong” or #simkincares on the back; and various activities intended to boost morale.
You can read more about what the Simkin Centre has been doing to keep spirits up among both staff and residents in the Simkin Centre newsletter that is in this issue. You can also follow Simkin Centre activities on their very colourful Facebook page, or sign up to receive their weekly e-newsletter “The Simkin Star” http://eepurl.com/gVT8Q1
Despite the upbeat tone in Laurie’s voice though, I had to ask some tough questions about the toll that the pandemic has taken on residents – both physically and emotionally.
I wondered, for instance, whether there has been any noticeable increase in the number of deaths at the Centre of late?
“There have been more deaths recently than what we usually experience,” Laurie said. “Whether it’s a result of loneliness, it’s hard to say, but over the past few months there is no doubt there have been more deaths here than there would have been normally’ (but she adds that none of the deaths are either COVID related or have anything to do with the care residents receive.)
I wondered whether the loosening the rules governing visits by family members has had any noticeable effect on residents’ moods? (Until July, no family members were allowed into the actual building. You probably recall the heart-rending stories – and pictures – of residents trying to communicate with family members on Facetime or by looking through windows.)
Laurie answered that staff continue to find creative ways to keep residents busy, having fun, and remaining connected to family and faith. Whether this is through FaceTime visits (which has actually connected residents with family members that they otherwise would not have ever connected with), drive-by parades, virtual Passover and High Holiday services or other socially distanced programming.
While it’s certainly an improvement now that each resident is allowed to have visits from two family members, the fact that it always has to be the same two family members who are allowed inside has made it difficult for many families to decide who the two indoor visitors will be.
And, although outdoor visitation has been made available at the Simkin Centre – under strict conditions, now that the weather has gotten colder, those visits will be coming to an end. Plans are underway to determine and renovate a suitable space for visiting during the winter months, Laurie noted.
Given what Laurie told me about the higher than average number of deaths of late in the Simkin Centre, I asked whether there are some vacant beds?
Laurie did say that, while there are some vacancies, “a lot more people in general who are paneled (the process whereby someone is allowed to move into a PCH) are not coming” to the Simkin Centre – or to any other PCH for that matter. The honest to god truth is that so many seniors are terrified at the prospect of having to go into a PCH and subsequently be removed from their families while the pandemic rages. Of course, that places enormous extra burdens on the families of seniors who would otherwise be candidates for admission into a PCH – it goes without saying.
It’s also important to note that, as average life expectancy has increased, the individuals who do reside in PCH’s are much older than what was the typical case not too long ago.
“From 15 years ago to what we see now there are so many more residents who require a much higher level of care,” Laurie observed, while noting once again that there has been no concomitant increase in government funding for PCH’s.
I suggested that I could ask readers to bear in mind the increased financial obligations of the Simkin Centre – and perhaps consider making a donation.
Despite the inevitable stress that anyone who’s involved in health care these days must be feeling, Laurie Cerqueti still ended our conversation by saying that “I really like being associated with the Jewish community and Jewish personal care home.”
I suggested that maybe it’s because Jews and Italians are so alike in so many ways. (My wife and I are often mistaken for Italians when we travel.)
“I’m not Italian myself,” Laurie laughed, “but when you’ve been married to an Italian for 25 years you might as well be.”
Local News
New young (and not so young) talent added to list of Jewish high achievers at most recent Winnipeg Music Festival
By MYRON LOVE The most recent (107th annual) Winnipeg Music Festival – which takes place annually in March – produced another group of Jewish musical stars – including several who were new to the competition. Joining repeat high achievers – such as Yale Rayburn-Vander Hout, Gregory Hyman, Alex Schaeffer, Juliet Eskin and Noah Kravetsky – this year the winner’s circle also included: Lyla Chisick, Lotan Berenstein, Benji Greenberg and Shani Groisman..
While the overwhelming majority of the music festival entrants are pre-teens and teenagers, Greenberg, who is 38, and Groisman – who recently celebrated her 20th birthday – are exceptions to that pattern.
Shani, who finished first in the PIANO SOLO, LATE ROMANTIC COMPOSERS, GRADE/LEVEL 10 category – is an accomplished pianist, singer, and music teacher, who has participated in numerous international and local festivals and piano competitions. As a teacher, she teaches students ranging from beginners to Level 5.
The daughter of Marina and Boris Groisman arrived in Winnipeg from Israel 10 years ago. Shani says that she began taking piano lessons when she was 5.
“This competition was something new for me,” observes the Grant Park High School graduate. . “I entered for the challenge. David Moroz, my teacher at the (University of Manitoba’s) Desautels School of Music was very supportive. I am looking forward to next year’s festival.”
Benji Greenberg reports that it was her singing teacher, Geneva Halverson, who encouraged her to enter the competition, A lawyer by training, who currently works as a children’s advocate for Manitoba Advocate for children and youth, Benji notes that while she has always enjoyed singing and has appeared over the years in musical productions in high school and shows staged by the Manitoba Bar Association, it was only about a year ago that she decided to take singing lessons “to learn to sing properly”.
The daughter of Debbie and Harley Greenberg, Benji competed in two categories – Musical Theatre 1965 to 2000, and Musical Theatre pre-1965 – for singers 16 and over. In both categories, she was runner-up to Yale Rayburn Vander Hout, a veteran of four years now in the competition.
“I loved being on stage,” Benji says. “I am looking forward to the next year’s competition.”
Yale Rayburn-Vander Hout continues to build on his accomplishments at the yearly festival. Last year, his third year in the competition, the 18-year-old son of Samantha and Peter was awarded the prestigious Gilbert and Sullivan Society Trophy – awarded for the most outstanding performance in a competition of winners of Gilbert & Sullivan classes.
A former Gray Academy student, he graduated from the University of Winnipeg Collegiate, and is currently in his first year at the Desautels Faculty of Music, where he is studying under the guidance df Donna Fletcher, the co-founder of Dry Cold Productions.
Yale – who has already graced our local stages, notes that he is hoping to pursue a career in musical theatre.
Gregory Hyman is a multi-faceted artist who can do it all. The 17-year-old son of Hartley and Rishona Hyman is a singer/songwriter/musician (guitar) who records and performs under the stage name, GMH. His versatility shone through once again in his seventh Music Festival, in which he registered three first-place finishes – once for guitar (20th and 21st century composers), and twice for vocals (popular and contemporary music and TV and movie music).
The St. John’s-Ravenscourt student has been busy on stage the past couple of months – headlining his own show at Sidestage on Osborne on March 2 and opening for musician/singer/’songwriter Goody Grace at the Park Theatre on March 16. His next solo performance was scheduled for the Rec Room on Friday, May 9.
Gregory has put out three albums – which readers can check out on any of the music streaming platforms as well as his own Instagram page (thegmh). He also continues to host his own podcast – “Talk and Rock with GMH”- now in its fifth season – in which he interviews various people in the music business across Canada.
Fifteen-year-old Alex Schaeffer registered one first place finish this year in the Canadian musicals 16 and under category. For the son of Marc Schaeffer and Kae Sasake, this was his fourth year competing in the festival
Both Alex and his older sister, Hannah (both Grant Park students), continue their nascent careers on stage. Alex made his big stage debut last year as one of the Von Trapp children in MTC’s production of “The Sound of Music” – followed by an appearance in the Manitoba Opera production of Carmen as a member of the children’s chorus.
Both Hannah and Alex recently performed in Grant Park High School’s production of A Chorus Line (Hannah played Cassie, and Alex played Paul), and Meraki Theatre’s production of Twelfth Night (Hannah played Malvolio, Alex played Antonio).
This summer Hannah and Alex will be performing in three different shows with Meraki Theatre and Rem Lezar Theatre at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival.
In the fall. Hannah will be off to to Oakville. Ontario to attend Sheridan College where she will be studying Musical Theatre Performance.
Juliet Eskin, 15, also stood out. In this her fourth go-round at the festival, the daughter of the musically talented Kelly Robinon and Josh Eskin took home three golds in: the viola solo, level 7 categories; Romantic composer, Baroque and Concerto; and was recommended by the adjudicator to compete for the Swedish Musical Club Trophy.
Juliet originally took up violin – adding the viola a couple of years ago. Outside of the music festival, she is the violist in the Assiniboine String Quartet and just finished performing in Evil Dead the Musical at MTYP, as well as singing the role of Sheila in A Chorus Line.
Rounding out this year’s returning Jewish WMF star was pianist Nate Kravetsky. playing piano.
Twelve-year-old Nate and older brother Noah, 15, the sons of Dr. Azriel Kravetsky and Dr. Carrie Palatnick, both attend Gray Academy – and have been taking piano lessons from Erica Schultz since they were five years old. Last year, Nate won gold in three classes: Baroque, Sonatina and Canadian Composer. In this year’s music festival, he completed in two classes: sonatina and own choice. He won gold in both classes.
His favourite thing about learning piano, Nate says, is getting to express himself and play a contemporary piece from a movie or video game when the festival is over.
This year’s music festival was the first for 11-year-old songstress Lyla Chisick – and the daughter of Daniel and Baillee Chisick acquitted herself quite well. She competed in five categories and achieved gold in three: solo performances in Own Choice; Musicals, 2965 to 1999; and 20th and 21st century English Art Song.
Lyla reports that she began taking voice lessons from Jessica Kos-Whicher abougt 18 months ago. “I really love singing,” she says. “It is a great activity.
“I am looking forward to next year’s festival.”
Lyla, Gregory and Yale were also recommend for the Provincials which will be held the weekend of May 24-26. Yale was recommended in the musical theatre category, while Gregory and Lyla were recommended in the TV and Movie category. Gregory was also recommended in the Popular Contemporary category, while Lyla was further recommended in the Vocal Primary category.
We look forward to the continued musical success off Yale, Gregory, Shani, Benji, Alex, Nate, Juliet and Lyla and what new talent may be unveiled at next year’s Winnipeg Music festival.
Local News
Belle Jarniewski recognized by Manitoba Legislature for leadership in combatting antisemitism and raising awareness of the Holocaust
By MYRON LOVE This year’s community commemoration of Yom Hashoah began on Erev Yom Hashoah – April 23 – with with the Megillat Hashoah interfaith reading of the Holocaust Scroll at Congregation Shaarey Zedek the night before.
Yom Hashoah, Thursday, April 24, began, as usual, in the morning with B’nai Brith’s “Unto Everyone There is a Name” – at the Legislature – during which members of our community – including a group of Grade 11 students from Gray Academy – and leaders of the greater community took turns reading out the names of relatives of local Holocaust survivors.
Gray Academy Grade 11 and 12 students also participated in the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s annual public commemorative service over the noon hour – also inside the Legislative Building – with students Alex Stoller and Aaron Greaves leading the 200 or so attendees in singing our national anthem and Hatikvah. Later in the program, they also performed “April Wind.”
Political leaders representing the three levels of Government and Jewish Federation leaders paid their respects leading to the service’s climax – the candle lighting. The ceremony was introduced by Belle Jarniewski, the executive director of the Jewish Heritage Society of Western Canada– with local survivors Saul and Rachel Fink, Susan Garfield, Faye Hoch, Edith Kimelman and Nehama Reuter participating.
The service ended with the traditional El Malei Rachamim prayer (recited by Congegaton Etz Chayim Chazan Tracy Kasner) and Kaddish, led by Rabbi Yossi Benarroch of Adas Yeshurun Herzlia.
This year’s Yom Hashoah commemoration concluded with a special honour for Belle Jarniewski who, later in the afternoon, was publicly recognized in the Legislature for her leadership in Holocaust awareness and the ongoing fight against antisemitism.
In recommending her for special recognition in the Legislature, Tuxedo MLA Carla Compton noted how Jarniewski’s upbringing as the daughter of Holocaust survivors instilled in her a passion for tikkun olam and spurred her to dedicate her life to teach people of all ages about the Holocaust and other genocides.
“Through her work as executive director of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada,” Compton noted, “Belle brings education about the Holocaust to thousands of students, teachers, administrators and professional groups each year. She has partnered with Manitoba Education and Training numerous times. She is also a writer who has been published in numerous Canadian, Israeli and European newspapers.”
Compton cited, in particular, Jarniewski’s 2010 book, “Voices of Winnipeg Holocaust Survivors,” which documents the histories of 73 local survivors before, during and after the Shoah and can be found in the libraries of every secondary school in Manitoba and in university and national libraries in several countries.
“At a time when antisemitism is on the rise, we must do whatever we can to combat it,” Compton stated. “Belle is doing this great work every day. Today, on Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, I cannot think of a better person to celebrate and honour.”
In response to this most recent honour, Jarniewski stated that she “feels tremendously humbled and honoured by Tuxedo MLA Carla Compton’s Member Statement in the Legislature about me. Carla has been a true friend, supporter, and ally to our community.”
She added that she met Compton when the latter was running for office about a year ago in the byelection to replace the former MLA from Tuxedo and former premier, Heather Stefanson.
“I feel very fortunate to be able to honour the memory of my parents and that of the many members of my family who were murdered in the Shoah – through my work. I’m sure my mom (Sylvia) and dad (Samuel) would never have imagined that our provincial government would one day rise to honour their daughter for working to combat antisemitism and remembering the Holocaust.”
As mentioned earlier, this was the most recent of several awards that Jarniewski has received over the past few months. Last month, she was one of several Jewish Winnipeggers who received a King Charles III Coronation medal. Hers was presented by the Manitoba Government.
Last September, our Jewish Federation – at the annual Shem Tov Awards evening – bestowed on her the Larry Hurtig Communal Professional Award in recognition of her outsized leadership role in Winnipeg, nationally and internationally, in preserving the memory of the Holocaust and fighting antisemitism.
“About 15 years ago,” she recalled at that time, “Joe Riesenbach, a survivor, reached out to me to help move a project forward that had literally been collecting dust. Before I knew it, I was a member of the Holocaust Education committee and was then named to the federally appointed delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), as a member of the Academic Working Group, the Education Working Group and the Committee on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial. The committee elaborated the first intergovernmental definition of anti-Semitism, adopted by consensus at the 2016 IHRA plenary. “
Through her work on Holocaust preservation and education, she was introduced to the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada. She was appointed the JHCWC’s executive director in 2018.
“The Jewish Heritage Centre is the key to our past and our future,” she noted. Exploring our archive is like walking back in time. It’s a treasure trove reflecting the incredible history and diversity of our wonderful Jewish community stretching back 125 years- the challenges and the many triumphs that have shaped who we are today. As the saying goes, you need to know the past to understand the present.
“The Winnipeg I grew up in was a golden age for Jews-a tapestry of multiculturalism with shared values,” she continued. “We thought that the kind of antisemitism earlier generations had faced was gone forever. While we may not be able to bring back the wonder years, we must stand united as a community and be strong in our convictions.”
Jarniewski is particularly pleased with the recent announcement, made by our provincial government on Yom Hashoah, reiterating its new partnership with the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada to put into place Premier Wab Kinew’s earlier promise to create and roll out a Holocaust education curriculum in Manitoba schools.
In an April 24 press release, Kinew said that “we are one Manitoba that cannot be divided by hatred. Now, more than ever, we must honour the diversity and inclusivity in our province and commit to learning the lessons of history so that they cannot be repeated. Learning lessons from the past protects some of the intrinsic values of our province – diversity, inclusion and human rights. The best way to uphold that basic understanding is to help foster these values in our young people.”
Beginning in the fall, the grades 6, 9 and 11, social studies curriculum will be updated to include mandatory Holocaust education in all schools across the province.
The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada has been tasked to develop new curriculum guidance on Holocaust education, including implementation tools, supports and resources.
“Recent surveys have demonstrated that most Canadian students know very little about the Holocaust,” said Jarniewski. “With increased hate-fueled violence and incidents of antisemitism, Holocaust education is a key tool for countering prejudice and cultivating inclusion. We at the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada are tremendously grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Manitoba government in strengthening Holocaust education in Manitoba through the creation of a mandated curriculum. We know that Holocaust education encourages critical thinking and reflection on how individuals could or should act in society and provides important lessons from the past to learn for the present and the future.”
Local News
This man – Michael Kalo – has been defaming prominent Winnipeggers online for years, but now he’s getting a taste of his own medicine
By BERNIE BELLAN (Posted May 3, updated May 8, updated May 11) There’s a particularly ugly side that often comes with being in the public eye – and that’s being on the receiving end of some of the most vile and awful comments, often threats – sometimes on social media, sometimes in emails, and sometimes on websites.
For years now many prominent Winnipeggers (almost all of them Jewish) have had to endure just that kind of vicious attack from someone by the name of Michael Kalo. But how do you fight back against someone who writes some of the most awful things – and then sends them out to various members of the media (including me), all the while hiding behind a series of aliases? There’s no point in suing him for defamation; he’s penniless. (The police have seized his computer in the past and are well aware of him, but the individuals whom he has defamed have always been reluctant to have the Crown press charges, thinking that it will only draw more attention to him – which is what he seems to want.)
But I’m different – and I’ve finally had enough of his crap.
In my original column I had posted the email Kalo had sent out to a great many individuals in which he defamed Jacob Brodovsky, who was forced to resign as co-executive director of BB Camp after a website called the j.ca launched a series of attacks on Jacob over his perceived “anti-Zionist” attitudes. I suppose these days who defines “Zionist” is a decision made by certain individuals who reserve for themselves the right to define what support for Israel means. I guess all those hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have been marching on the streets protesting Netanyahu’s deliberate strategy of letting the remaining hostages linger in tunnels in Gaza – however many may still be alive) are also “anti-Zionist.”
Anyway, I’ve now removed that vile email. If anyone still wants to see it, email me at jewishp@mymts.net and I’ll send it to you.
Something else I’ve now removed from this article is my referring to Michael Kalo’s very accomplished daughters. My intention was to attempt to induce them to use their influence to sway their father to stay off the internet and stop defaming members of Winnipeg’s Jewish community. But then I received an email from a prominent member of our community who asked me to remove my references to Michael Kalo’s daughters. That person wrote, in part: ‘His daughters don’t have anything to do with him. They don’t talk to him.”
Well, if his daughters don’t want anything to do with him, then I suppose there’s no point in retaining what I had written about them – so that’s gone too.
What’s left now though is a video of Michael Kalo that gives anyone who has never heard of him – or seen him in pubic, a clear idea of what type of person he is.
The video that was sent to me shows Kalo engaging in an argument with someone (and the identity of that person was not revealed to me by the person who sent me the video.) In it you can hear Michael explain why he’s consistently called Ben Carr a “kike”, “a spoiled Jew boy,” along with some other choice epithets. (Kalo has sent out numerous emails defaming Ben Carr using the name “Mohammed Greenberg” as the sender.)
But, I did respond to Kalo, whom I’ve know for many years, starting with when he achieved notoriety by being banned from entering the Asper Campus over 30 years ago. Here’ what I wrote to him:
“You know what I’m going to do Michael. I’m going to print your letter on my website – but I’m going to say that it was sent by someone named Michael Kalo, who has been defaming various Winnipeg Jews for years. That way it will have the opposite effect of what you’re intending. I’m also going to post the video in which you call Ben Carr (and the person filming the video) a kike. And if you want to come after me the way you’ve been going after anyone and everyone who provokes your ire, go right ahead. (You seem to have a real hate on for successful Winnipeg Jews. Is it because you’re such a failure in life yourself?) And I’m going to bcc this email to some of the people you’ve been defaming so that they can see how much of a fool you”ve been making of yourself for years.
-“Bernie”
Here’s the video of Michael (who is apparently walking away with a Ben Carr sign tucked under his arm):
You must be logged in to post a comment Login