Local News
Further to how many Israelis have come here under the Provincial Nomineee Program
By BERNIE BELLAN Elsewhere on this website (http://jewishpostandnews.ca/local/1132-increase-in-allocations-to-provincial-nominee-program-likely-to-lead-to-influx-of-israeli-immigrants-to-winnipeg) we have a story about the Provincial Nominee Program, which is the program through which a great many new Jewish immigrants from Israel and other countries have been able to move to Manitoba.
Following publication of that article, however, we received comments from an immigration consultant who suggested that, as a result of the tightening of requirements under the PNP, there are fewer individuals from Israel who will be applying to come to Manitoba.
That individual also suggested that many immigrants who have come here have left Winnipeg as a result of not being able to find work in their chosen fields.
We had previously contacted the Jewish Federation to try to obtain specific figures on how many individuals had come to Manitoba through the Federation’s program of providing assistance to prospective immigrants. But, when we received the communication from that immigration consultant we passed her comments on to the Federation for reaction.
Following is what we received back from the Federation:
“In 2019, 76 families arrived through GrowWinnipeg, followed by 45 in 2020, and only 7 in 2021. Uncertainty and restrictions imposed as part of the pandemic negatively impacted the number of arrivals and in-person exploratory visits. To keep things moving for our applicants, we implemented a virtual pre-exploratory visit process where they could connect with our community’s organizations, as well as social and employment contacts.
“Federation has not imposed any restrictions on applicants; however, they must adhere to the requirements put in place by the MPNP (Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program). We have 75 people ready and willing to come to Winnipeg and continue with the immigration process, and with pandemic restrictions loosening, we anticipate numbers to bounce back from 2021. There are currently 300 individuals in various stages of producing required documents necessary to continue with the process. Based on research conducted in 2017, there is an 80% retention rate of families who have moved to Winnipeg since we began tracking in 1999.
(The 80% retention rate for Jewish families that have moved to Winnipeg is in line with provincial figures, as you will see at the end of this article. Still, the notion that many families that had immigrated here with the help of the Federation have actually left Winnipeg, as was suggested by the immigration consultant with whom we communicated, is something about which we are still wondering. We are anxiously awaiting the results of the 2021 census to see just how many Jews there are in Winnipeg. As a reminder, the 2016 census reported that only 7,640 individuals in Winnipeg reported they were Jewish by ethnicity. Again, that result seemed to be an anomaly, largely because “Jewish” was not one of the choices for ethnicity listed on the 2016 census.)
The response from the Federation further noted that “It also worth noting that Federally, IRCC’s (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) application backlog has grown beyond 2.1 million people. Permanent residence, temporary residence, and citizenship applications grew by nearly 99,000 people in the month of April alone.”
As a footnote to the May 25 article, it is worth noting that Manitoba has been allowed to accept increasing numbers of applicants under the PNP each year for the past seven years to the point that the province was allowed to accept 6,275 applicants in 2021 (which is 775 more than the province was allowed to accept each year between 2015 and 2017).
We wondered though whether the province has actually approved the full number of applicants it has been allowed to receive.
We contacted the representative for Jon Reyes, Manitoba Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Immigration, who had previously provided us with detailed information about the PNP, and asked him this question:
“The one thing I would like to know though is how many people have actually come here under the PNP. The figures you sent me were for how many applicants the province was allowed to accept, but I wonder whether you’ve filled the quota each year?”
We received this response: “I can confirm we filled the quota last year, and the department is going to check the numbers for the years previous.”
Subsequently we received an update from Minister Reyes’ deparment:
The department was able to pull this data in regards to retention:
MB 5-year retention rates are as follows (based on 2014 PR admission and 2019 tax filing):
· Provincial nominees category: 75.3%
· All Immigrant categories: 72.8%*
* Federal Economic Class, Provincial Nominees, Sponsored Family, Resettled Refugees & Protected Persons, etc.
Local News
Join the Sewing Circle at Chesed Shel Emes
Local News
Talented Winnipeg composer Sara Kreindler teams up with her mother Reena Kreindler to create new satirical show to premiere here in May
By BERNIE BELLAN It’s been many years since I’ve heard from Sara Kreindler. Sara’s name first appeared in The Jewish Post & News in 2002 when a satirical musical titled “A Touch of Class” was reviewed by the late Arnold Ross. That particular production featured songs from popular Broadway shows that touched upon themes such as “greed, poverty, oppression, and social unrest.”
When she appeared in that show, Ross noted, Kreindler had just recently returned to Winnipeg from England, where she had obtained a doctorate in Social Psychology from Oxford University.
While at Oxford, Kreindler found time to compose a satirical musical titled “Charity,” which played to rave reviews there, and was performed five times.
Continuing in the theme of writing satirical musicals, Sara has now teamed up with her mother, Reena, to write a new musical titled “A Perfect Man,” which is set to run at the Gargoyle Theatre from May 6-17.
According to a press release we received, “A Perfect Man” is “a satirical musical, set on a fictional analogue of ‘The Bachelor’.
“The story follows an anthropologist who arrives to research TV’s hottest reality-dating show — only to discover she’s been made a contestant, and the bachelor is her high school crush. Past and present collide against an exuberant pastiche score that uses vintage musical styles to highlight modern absurdities.”
“Praised as ‘a musician [who] can make biofuels funny’ (CBC), Sara is known for whip-smart satire on a panoply of topics. Her digital musical, ‘Larry Saves the Canadian Healthcare System, created during her former life as an academic, has garnered over 84,000 YouTube views. Naturally, she had a field day with the subject of reality dating.
“The topic just begs for campy zaniness, which I think we all need in these times — but also for a more cerebral critique of what these shows say about the culture that spawned them,” says Kreindler. And thanks to the romance context, the satire is woven into a deeper, more personal story. “It’s satire with a heart.”
Here is some more information about Sara Kreindler, taken from a 2009 article I wrote about her:
“Born in Israel, Sara’s precocious talent was nurtured by her mother, Reena, whose own particular talent is literary, not musical. According to Reena, however, Sara was singing from the time she was a baby, and she began to study piano at the age of four.
“As a young girl, Sara began writing her own songs and poems, along with the “occasional musical”, notes Reena. Yet, Sara’s rare talent put her at odds with the typical interests of other children her own age, on top of which she attended a school to which she was exposed to a fair degree of antisemtism.
“As a result, Sara says, being bullied was a common aspect of her childhood. On one occasion, when she was nine, she notes, Sara fought back against one particular bully by reciting the following little ditty:
“I write so many epigrams to you that all the people laugh.
I’m tired of writing epigrams.
I want to write your epitaph!”
“Sara went on to compose a musical titled ‘Flutesong’ while she was a student at Vincent Massey Collegiate, she says. After doing her undergraduate work at the University of Manitoba, majoring in Psychology, Sara won a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oxford University.
“Sara eventually earned a doctorate in Social Psychology and returned to Winnipeg, where she began teaching at the University of Manitoba, but she said she didn’t enjoy the “mass production” style of teaching upwards of 300 students at a time, so she switched careers and began doing health research for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.”
All the while Sara has been continuing to compose and perform her own songs, often teaming up with her mother, as she has for “A Perfect Man.”
Showtimes and ticket information for The Perfect Man are available at:
http://www.thegargoyletheatre.com/upcoming-events/the-perfect-man
Local News
Rabbi Kliel Rose to leave Congregation Etz Chayim for new post in Ottawa
The following email from Congregation Etz Chayim Executive Director Morissa Granove was sent to members of the congregation on Friday, April 10:
“Dear Members and Friends,
“As we know, Rabbi Kliel recently spent a weekend with Kehilllat Beth Israel where he has since been offered a position. After much thought and consideration, he has made the decision to sign a contract in Ottawa. He will continue to lead our congregation through Yom Kippur.
“This news marks a significant ending for our Etz Chayim community, and at the same time with change comes opportunity. Congregation Etz Chayim will soon embark on our own Rabbinical search with excitement as we look for our perfect candidates and explore the new possibilities that will help us to continue to shape a strong future for our synagogue and members.”
Kliel Rose took up the position of rabbi at Etz Chayim in August, 2018.
In an article announcing his appointment to the position in the June 6, 2018 issue of The Jewish Post & News, Myron Love wrote:
The congregation has been without a permanent rabbi since last summer when Rabbi Larry Lander chose to retire – after ten years here – and relocate to Toronto.
Kliel Rose is already a well-seasoned rabbi. He was ordained in 2004 by the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.
He previously served as spiritual leader at the West End Synagogue in Nashville and Temple Enamu-El in Miami Beach. His current posting is Beth Shalom Synagogue in Edmonton.
Following the example of his parents, Kliel Rose has been active in interfaith dialogue and human rights work for which he was honoured in 2014 with the Human Rights Hero Award by Truah: The Rabbibic Call for Human Rights.
He has also participated in the Kellogg Management Education for Jewish Leaders program at Northwestern University and was most recently chosen to be among 20 rabbis from different denominations chosen to train in the Clergy leadership Incubator – a two-year program, under the leadership of Ranni Sidney Schwarz, intended to educate younger rabbis in innovative thinking, change management and institutional transformation.
In Edmonton, Rose also served as Jewish chaplain at the University of Alberta and took the lead on a program called “Faith and Inclusion”, whose mandate was to support individuals with cognitive and physical learning challenges to feel more welcome within various faith communities.