Local News
Community leaders David Asper, Harvey and Sandra Secter among the honourees at recent University of Manitoba convocation
By MYRON LOVE Community leaders David Asper and Harvey Secter were among ten individuals who were recipients of honorary degrees at the University of Manitoba’s most recent convocation.
For Harvey Secter, who was recognized with a Doctorate of Laws, the award was the culmination of a 30-plus year relationship with the university in one capacity or another. What made the event even sweeter for the university’s former Chancellor is that his wife, Sandra, was also honoured by the university with the Peter D. Curry Chancellor’s Award, which is given out annually to an individual who “has made outstanding contributions to the develop of the university.”
The Secter name is well known in our community. Harvey’s parents, the late Joe and Gwen Secter, set the bar high in terms of philanthropy and community leadership for their children – and Harvey and Sandra have certainly made their own mark in community service.
Harvey Secter began his working career in the family business, succeeding his father in operating Ricki’s Canada Ltd., a chain of ladies’ clothing stores across Canada, in partnership with his brother-in-law, Sam Guralnick.
In his time in business, Secter was involved with the Jewish Child and Family Service, which led into volunteering with the United Way, including chairing the 1998 United Way campaign.
He was part of the fundraising effort on behalf of the St. Boniface Hospital’s new Research Centre and served on the board of the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba for more than 12 years.
In 1982, Secter and Guralnick sold the business and Secter, after fully retiring from the company – by then in his 40s – returned in 1988 to the University of Manitoba – from whence he had previously earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1969 – to pursue a career in law. He followed that up with a Master’s degree in Law from Harvard in 1995.
That same year, after returning to Winnipeg, he became a lecturer in Law at his alma mater, teaching in the fields of mediation and arbitration. In 1999, he was appointed Dean of the Law faculty. And, after retiring from that position in 2008, he was asked to serve as Chancellor of the university, a role he filled until 2019.
It was her contributions to the university as the wife of the Chancellor that earned Sandra Secter the Peter Curry Award. Harvey notes that it is unusual in that Sandra has never held an official position at the university.
The Chancellor serves, in a sense, as the university’s leading ambassador, Harvey Secter points out, and Sandra was the consummate “ambassador’s wife” by regularly engaging all the stakeholders, be they students, faculty, alumni or donors.
In her own right, Sandra Secter has contributed substantially to our community with leadership roles with the National Council of Jewish Women, the Combined Jewish Appeal – where she and close friend Marsha Cowan served as co-chairs of the 1997/8 campaign and again in 2001– as well as many arts organizations over the years.
“It was been really gratifying that others have found our joint efforts as volunteers over the years on behalf of the university and the community at large to be meaningful and worthy of recognition at this stage of our lives,” Secter concludes.
For David Asper – who was also recognized with a Doctorate of Laws, it was more of a bittersweet moment because David Milgaard wasn’t able to share the podium with him. Milgaard, the man that Asper spent many years moving heaven and earth to free from prison after he was falsely convicted for murder, was also scheduled to receive an honorary degree but, sadly, passed away in mid-May.
“I accepted his degree on behalf of David,” Asper says, “but it wasn’t the same without him. I missed having my guy beside me. That was to be his moment of full redemption.”
For readers who are unaware – or may have forgotten the details, Milgaard was a young man from Winnipeg – a drifter at the time – who happened to be crashing in Saskatoon for a period. In 1969, on a cold winter morning, a young nurse by the name of Gail Miller was brutally raped and murdered at a bus stop in Saskatoon. Footsteps in the snow led to the nearby house where the then-16-year-old Milgaard was temporarily staying.
Saskatoon police soon decided that Milgaard was their man. As the great Canadian criminal lawyer Eddie Greenspan pointed out in his autobiography, once the police and the Crown zero in on a suspect, they do their best to prove his guilt and ignore evidence that points to his innocence.
Thus, even though Milgaard steadfastly insisted that he was innocent, he was convicted of the crime and sentenced to life in prison. Through a quirk in our prison system, once convicted you can only get parole if you acknowledge your guilt – something which Milgaard refused to do.
David’s mother, the late Joyce Milgaard, believed in her son’s innocence and worked tirelessly to find anyone who would give him a fair hearing. In 1986, after 16 years in prison, the late Hersh Wolch took on the case and brought David Asper – a lawyer for Wolch’s firm – in to help.
Asper was soon spearheading the defense.
“I worked on David’s case for six years before he was released in 1992,” Asper recalls. “He was finally fully exonerated in 1997 by science and the evidence provided by DNA analysis. We became very close. A certain level of intimacy and intensity developed in our relationship”
(Another man – a serial killer as it turned out – who happened to be staying at the same house where Milgaard was staying at that time – was subsequently arrested and convicted of the murder.)
Asper observes that life outside went on in the years that Milgaard was incarcerated. “I met Ruth, the woman who would become my wife in 1986,” he says. “We had two children before David was released and our third before he was exonerated While my wife was working at starting a business and I was travelling across the country pursuing justice for David, his mother stepped up and helped us with our own family.”
In recent days, with kids grown, David Asper reports that he has cut back on his activities. “I am taking it easier,” he says. “I am still involved though in public service as a director of the North Portage Partnership Board and Chair of the Manitoba Police Commission, which I have found to be an interesting role.”
Local News
Shaarey Zedek Sisterhood 60th anniversary interfaith luncheon
By MYRON LOVE On Wednesday, May 28, the Shaarey Zedek Sisterhood hosted its 60th annual interfaith luncheon – with 170 supporters on hand to break bread together, celebrate the Sisterhood’s 95th year in operation – in addition to the luncheon’s diamond anniversary, and enjoy an inspiring presentation by Indigenous business leader and consultant Lisa Lewis, who spoke about the kinship between her people and ours.
The program began with greetings from Lieutenant-Governor Anita Neville and Gail Asper, representing the Shaarey Zedek’s Board of Directors. Asper – the consummate community volunteer – spoke of the importance and benefits of the satisfaction gained from being a volunteer, as well as the important role that the Sisterhood has played in the life of our Jewish community’s oldest and largest congregation – a subject that was subsequently expanded upon by Marisa Hochman – one of the Sisterhood’s three co-presidents (along with Sandy Polanski and Louise Raber).
(Hochman and Raber also co–chaired the luncheon, along with Amy Karlinsky.)
“Our tradition teaches that it is important for us to be part of a community,” Hochman noted in her remarks. “Our Torah teaches that, while G-d is one, it is not good for man to be alone.”
She emphasized the importance in Judaism of balance and harmony as reflected in our rituals and observances – lighting two Shabbat candles, for example, the Commandments being written on two tablets, and in bringing together the four species of plants for the celebration of Sukkot.
“The mitzvah (of the four species),” Hochmanpointed out, ‘is not complete until all four of the elements are brought together – symbolizing that it takes many kinds of people to make a world – and that each of us brings something special to the table. It is only when all of us are working together that we are complete.”
Hochman provided a sampling of some of the ways that the Sisterhood contributes to its members, the synagogue and the wider community: the book club, the tallit-weaving program, monetary donations to the synagogue, support for theological seminaries and other Jewish educational institutions, and Jewish Child and Family Service.
“To me,” she added, “Sisterhood is friendship, community, the power of women working together to create, build and share and the passing on of wisdom and traditions – L’dor V’dor – from generation to generation.
“It is multigenerational, with members ranging in age from 16 into their 90s. A common thread that binds our members is that no matter their age or life circumstances, they are vibrant and engaged with the world around them. They love to learn and help others. They each contain a spark that illuminates.
“Like the glow of the Shabbat candles, we know that, together, we can bring more light and goodness into the world. Together, we definitely shine brighter than we do on our own.”
Following a delicious Shaarey Zedek lunch – salad, party sandwiches and dessert, keynote speaker Lisa Lewis stepped up the microphone. The speaker is a successful business woman, having started “Beyond Excellence Creative Consulting,” which provides tailor-made training and management assistance to a wide range of organizations.
Local News
Shindico celebrates 50th anniversary
(June 11, 2025) Shindico, one of Canada’s leading real estate firms, celebrated its 50th anniversary in typically understated style today. Instead of a lavish banquet in a swank hotel, over 200 Winnipeggers of different stripes gathered in a huge warehouse in St. Boniface to enjoy a variety of different foods served from different food trucks that had been brought onto the parking lot for the occasion in a carnival like atmosphere.
There were no long speeches marking the event. Instead Shindico staff mingled with guests and even the top bosses stood in line to order Philly steaks, french fries, cotton candy, popcorn, drinks, and sundry other food items. And, instead of the kind of swag typically given out at fancy celebrations guests were given simple hats saying “Shindico 50th anniversary.”
That’s the Shindico style we’ve come to expect of Shindico’s founders, Sandy & Robert Shindleman, who are known for understatement in their style of clothing – jeans and work shirts being what they are best known for wearing!
And, if you haven’t already read our story about how Sandy Shindleman came to found Shindico with his brother, Robert, you can read it here: The Sandy Shindleman story.
Local News
Cathy Moser organizing information program and beach party at Camp Massad as part of campaign to raise funds for pioneering Israeli treatment using psychedelic drugs and psychotherapy to treat PTSD
By MYRON LOVE When it comes to fundraising for worthy causes, Dr. Cathy Moser is one of the most creative and innovative people I know.
For over a dozen years, she was the annual Cancercare Manitoba Foundation Challenge for Life entrant Serratus Superstars team leader. Over that time period, Moser and her team raised over $450,000.00 – not only through walking but also through donations from garage sales and bake sales she and her friends organized and concerts organized in their homes.
A few months back, the Jewish Post ran a story about Cathy and her husband Jeff’s newest cause – a campaign to raise money for the Jerusalem Foundation’s new Resilience Centre, a novel treatment center for Israelis suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Aided in fundraising by long time Talmud Torah classmates and friends Donna Weinstein and Gina Chodirker, the Winnipeg couple are pledging to double every dollar donated to the Centre up to $100,000.
As part of that initiative, Moser and her friends are inviting readers to a special event – “Jerusalem at the Lake” on Sunday, June 22, at Camp Massad. The day’s activities will begin at 11:00 with brunch and presentations by Jerusalem Resilience Center directors Dr. Sinai Oren, psychiatrist and psychotherapist, and Pinni Baumol, a social worker who has been working in the area for decades.
That will be followed by a family-friendly beach party from 3:00 to 7:00 featuring activities for all ages. Moser reports that there will be dinner, a live band, Israeli dancing, sports, a heated pool and arts and crafts for the kids. She adds that she, Gina Chodirker and Donna Weinstein recruited several other Talmud Torah/JWC alumni – including Miriam Kohn, Avis Raber, Jackie Winestock, Deborah Fleishman and Gail Thau – to help out.
Moser points out that, according to the Jerusalem Foundation, estimates suggest that over half a million Israelis are suffering from PTSD, as well as other psychological issues, since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and ensuing war.
“It is not only Israeli soldiers who have been traumatized,” Moser observed in that earlier interview. “Everybody in Israel knows someone who was affected by the attack on October 7. This past year has triggered trauma from past wars as well as intergenerational trauma from the Holocaust.”
In response to this tsunami of trauma that has hit Israelis, the Jerusalem Foundation, soon after the October attack, founded the Resilience Centre – operating out of the Shaare Zedek Hospital. The Resilience Centre utilizes a range of treatments for trauma therapy – including the pioneering use of the drug ketamine, in combination with psychotherapy.
Cathy Moser has been treating patients for the past 40 years. During that time, she says, she has treated victims of physical, sexual and emotional abuse and other horrific life events. Conventional tools and treatments can successfully treat trauma, but some (traumas) are so barbaric and complex that no matter how skilled a clinician is, “we cannot restore one’s lifeforce,’ ” she points out.
Moser initially approached the Jerusalem Resilience Center because of her work in psychedelic medicine. “Last summer, I visited the Reslience Centre,” she says. “I witnessed their treatment efficacy. There are less than a handful of legal psychedelic treatment centers in Israel, and this is a main one.”
Moser notes that readers who are interested in attending this special event and becoming sponsors can contact her at 204 295-3214, Donna Weinstein – 204 540-9869, or Gina Chodirker – 204 218-4803 or email friendsofJRC@gmail.com.
Registration deadline is June 14.
We owe it to our Israeli brothers and sisters to show them that we care about the mental health sacrifices that they are making to defend our homeland. While we happily offer donations for forest and building restoration, this gift will help to restore the ability of those that are traumatized to enjoy life again.
“We are hoping to raise at least $250,000.00 for the Jerusalem Resilience Centre,” Moser says. “That’s a lot of gelt…. but I think we can do it!
It is definitely a worthy cause.”
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