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Harvey Chochinov, Steven Kroft recognized with Distinguished Alumni Awards at University of Manitoba Homecoming 2024 celebrations
By MYRON LOVE Every year, as part of Homecoming Week celebrations, the University of Manitoba recognizes a group of alumni who have distinguished themselves in their life’s work. Among the honorees this year were two members of our Jewish community. In a presentation on Thursday, September 19, Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov was recognized with the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award for Academic Innovation while Steve Kroft was honoured for Lifetime Achievement.
“This is a tremendous honour,” said Kroft, the president of Conviron, a Winnipeg-based company founded by his father that makes controlled environments, providing researchers and entrepreneurs the ability to grow plants indoors. “I feel humbled.
“At the same time, I am somewhat uncomfortable. For everything that I have accomplished, I have had the help of so many other, good people.
“I am grateful, though, for this honour.”
Dr. Chochinov reiterated those same feelings. “I am humbled,” he said. “It is gratifying to be recognized by one’s peers.”
For the long-time psychiatrist, September also brought him a second highlight. A week after receiving the Distinguished Alumni Award, he was in Maastricht in the Netherlands to accept the Arthur M. Sutherland Award bestowed annually by the International Psycho-Oncology Society for lifetime achievement in the field of psycho-oncology. He is the only psychiatrist in Canadian ever to have received the Sutherland award.
The son of Dave and the late Shirley Chochinov, Harvey is a 1983 graduate of the University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine. After finishing psychiatry residency, he went on to complete his doctoral studies in the Faculty of Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba.
It was during his training in psychiatry, he recalled, that he was drawn to the role of psychiatry in palliative care. In furthering his training in that field, he became the first Canadian to complete a Fellowship in Psychiatric Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York.
Chochinov is now a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the Max Rady School of Medicine, where he has been on faculty for more than 30 years. In addition to his local teaching and research, he has given over 500 invited lectures during the course of his career, in most major academic institutions worldwide.
The first psychiatrist to be awarded a Canada Research Chair in Palliative Care, Chochinov’s focus throughout most of his career has been finding ways to help healthcare professionals preserve patients’ dignity and to acknowledge their personhood. As an example, he cited a situation with his late sister, Ellen. Ellen, he pointed out, was born with cerebral palsy. Five years before she died, he recalled, she was admitted to ICU facing acute respiratory collapse and intubation was being considered.
“The internist came up to me and asked me one question – the only question related to her personhood,” he recounted. “He asked if she read magazines. I understood that question to mean if it was worth inserting a breathing tube. Her internist could see her bent spine, her spastic limbs, her dropping blood gases; but what he couldn’t see was Ellen and the rich, full, complex life she lived. I took a deep breath and replied, ‘Yes, she can read magazines – but only when only when she is between novels.”
The danger for health care professionals is losing sight of the person, he observes. He cited a conversation with a nephrology nurse, who conceded that, after a while, she looked at patients as “kidneys on legs, not as whole persons.” Chochinov said that kind of attitude interferes with being able to empathize with patients or to feel compassion.
“Patients won’t care what you know, until they know that you care,” he continued. “Patient care must be based on whatever ailment they have, along with who they are as whole persons. Healthcare providers who can’t do that become more mechanical or robotic in their approach, and often less satisfied with their job over time, placing them at higher risk for burnout.”
He added that patients look towards healthcare providers for affirmation of themselves. “If they sense a healthcare provider can only see their illness, then patienthood will have eclipsed personhood; and that the essence of who they are as a person has fallen off the clinician’s radar.”
“We must ask patients what they want known about themselves as persons in order to provide the best care possible,” he said. “Without knowing who people are and the nature of their suffering, a commitment to person-centred care is only lip service.”
“In times of sickness and vulnerability, will all want and deserve not only health care, but health caring.”
In the speech when he accepted his Lifetime Achievement Award, 57-year-old Steve Kroft observed that he has always associated “lifetime achievement awards” with the Oscars, “when they wheel out a 96 year-old director, who is well past his prime, to recognize his work, decades after his last movie and just before he appears in the In Memoriam video segment. So, while it is incredibly humbling to be recognized in this way, and so meaningful that it is by my alma mater, I prefer to think of this as a “lifetime so far” achievement award, because I still have lots in the tank, and have lots more to do.”
A lawyer by training, the son of Senator Richard and Hillaine Kroft – following the example of his parents, has written a notable resumé for community service. Among the many organizations that he has been involved with are: the Assiniboine Park Conservancy, the United Way of Winnipeg, the Business Council of Manitoba. CancerCare Manitoba Foundation, the University of Manitoba’s Advisory Council, the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, the Asper Community Campus board, the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg and the Prairie Theatre Exchange. He is currently National Vice Chair of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, and a member of the Board of Directors of the True North Youth Foundation, where he also serves as Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee.
Two years ago, he was awarded the Sol Kanee Distinguished Community Service Medal, the highest honour bestowed on a member of Manitoba’s Jewish Community.
In his speech to students, alumni, professors and community leaders on September 19, Kroft courageously tackled the curse of cancel culture at many universities over the past few years.
“One of the things on my list of possibilities since we sold our business two years ago,” he noted, “was to enrol in a university class or two. But I have wondered whether today’s university campus is one on which I could flourish, or even feel completely comfortable. And it’s this issue that I’d like to spend my last few minutes at the podium speaking about this evening.”
He reminisced about his university days when students and faculty would debate all kinds of issues. “Our classes were as diverse then as they are now,” he remembered. “We would take our best crack at making our case, and then listen to others make their arguments, and try to convince them why they were wrong. Quite often we would each move a little in our thinking, but when we didn’t, we would agree to disagree and then we’d go – often together – for a beer. Discourse was civil and respectful. And perhaps most importantly, we felt free to say what we wanted to say without fear of being ostracized – or as one would say today – of being cancelled.
“Somewhere along the way,” he pointed out. “Campuses across North America have come to be made up of not a collection of independent thinking individuals, but rather a collection of groups by which individuals identify themselves and by which they identify others. These groups are often based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, but also on things like the perceived haves and have nots. Too often today, positions are presented, or worse yet, assumed, as group positions, and there is little or no interest in discussion or debate. If one is not part of the group, their views are just deemed to be wrong, or out of touch, with little or no exchange of dialogue or ideas. And worse yet, in too many cases, the declaration is not merely that one position is without merit, but that those who hold that different viewpoint are being hurtful or offensive.”
He noted that he has spent a significant part of his life working with others to help people from diverse backgrounds in their quests to make their lives a little better. “I have the utmost respect for those whose instincts are to protect individuals who have traditionally been misrepresented, under-represented or mistreated,” he said.
“But, at the same time, we have to recognize that this “groupification,” and the over-implementation of policies to guard against potential discomfort caused to any group can and is having unintended consequences, and this is especially the case on university campuses. Well-meaning people have become reluctant or outright scared to ask questions, challenge opinions or even use the wrong word, for fear of being cancelled or worse. Being criticized by one individual is one thing, but to be under intense fire from an entire group is quite another.
“We need to restore an environment in which competing ideas can be debated openly and respectfully but, at the same time, I want to be clear that under no circumstances is there a place for hate or intimidation on campus.”
We need to restore an environment in which competing ideas can be debated openly and respectfully, but at the same time I want to be clear that under no circumstances is there a place for hate or intimidation on campus. I am a strong believer in freedom of speech and academic freedom. And it is on university campuses where such speech rightly belongs. However, when people occupy a space without permission or hijack an event to denigrate, threaten or denounce a group because of their race, religion or sexual orientation – whether that be at a university quad or during a valedictory address, university administrators must act and perpetrators must be held to account. The distinction between free speech based on facts, and hateful and intimidating speech based on lies, is not as blurry as some make it out to be. It is incumbent on our administrators and our security services to make those distinctions quickly and decisively. A university campus should be a place where we can challenge ideas and policies without attacking people for who they are.”
In concluding, he asked his audience to take his message as a positive one, “I truly believe,” he stated, “that we are uniquely positioned at the University of Manitoba – because of the diversity within our province -to lead other universities in finding the right balance between open dialogue and respect. We are Winnipeggers and Manitobans after all. Every successful project we have taken on in this city and province, has succeeded because we have tackled it together. Whether it’s a museum, a university capital campaign, a new concert hall on campus; or a new cancer research institute, an addictions centre or a camp for underserved youth, we are always determined to do it better than anyone else has done it, anywhere. Our greatest achievements have come by bringing people of different backgrounds and circumstances together toward a common goal.”
Local News
Canadian produced kosher wine now available in Winnipeg
By BERNIE BELLAN With the imposition last February of a ban on the sale of American liquor in Manitoba, the only type of kosher wines that were available here were from Israel, specifically wines produced by the Galil winery.
Since the latter part of September, however, kosher wines produced by a Canadian winery are now available in Manitoba liquor marts, also the Kenaston Wine Market.
The wines – a red and a white, are produced by a winery known as Tzafona Cellars – located in the Niagara region of Ontario.
On Tuesday, December 2, Rabbi Avraham Gislason, who is a a rabbi in Thornhill, as well as a Tzafona Cellars winemaker, spoke to a large crowd at the Jewish Learning Centre, where he not only explained how kosher wine differs from non-kosher wine, he brought along bottles of five different wines produced by Tzafona Cellars for members of the audience to taste.
So – what makes a wine kosher? you might ask. According to the internet, “A wine is kosher if it is made according to Jewish dietary laws… with strict supervision and handling by Sabbath-observant Jews from the crushing of the grapes to the bottling of the finished product. The winemaking process must use only kosher-certified ingredients, such as yeast and fining agents, and rabbinically-approved equipment.
Rabbi Gislason himself started Tzafona Cellars in 2014. According to the Tzafona website, Rabbi Gislason saw that the “soil, air, and microclimate of the Niagara Peninsula all come together to create an up-and-coming world class wine region, yielding a unique experience that cannot be recreated anywhere else in the world.”
While he appreciated the quality of the wines being produced in the Niagara region, there was one problem: None of the wines were kosher.
According to the Tzafona website, “Starting with the 2014 vintage, Tzafona began to produce kosher wines using the same techniques and high-quality grapes used in producing other premium non-kosher wines. Since then, Tzafona has continued to produce a variety of different wines, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, and Chardonnay. We have produced award-winning Icewines in the Vidal, Riesling, and Gewurtzraminer varietals. Tzafona is the only kosher Icewine producer in North America. Their Cabernet Franc Icewine won a Gold Medal at the All Canadian Wine Championships in 2025.
In 2016 we began to produce a line of refreshing semi-sweet wines under our brand “Nava Blanc” and “Nava Ruby.” (It is the Nava Blanc and Nava Ruby wines that are now available in Manitoba). Both of these wines are Tzafona’s bestsellers here in Canada and the USA.
The process of getting Tzafona wines approved in Manitoba was set in motion by Winnipeg marketing specialist Marsha Friedman, who for many years has worked as a marketing consultant and sales agent for businesses looking to offer premium kosher foods to their customers.
Her business, Excellence & Kosher, focuses on identifying unmet needs in the market. “I see a need and I try to fill it,” Marsha says.
“We also ensure that the most needed Kosher food products for the stores that carry Kosher are available, including Canadian Kosher wine,” she adds.
Marsha explains that she approached Tzafona—the only truly Canadian kosher wine company—some time ago with the idea of opening the Manitoba market for them and introducing their wines to local consumers.
Afterward, she contacted tManitoba Liquor and Lotteries (MBLL), which agreed to begin carrying two Tzafona wines: Nava Ruby (Red) and Nava Blanc (White).
Since that initial success in making Tzafona wines available for purchase in Manitoba, Marsha says that she and her daughter Shira have been making similar progress in Alberta and hope to expand into the British Columbia market as well.
For more information about Tzafona Wines, including the addresses of stores in Winnipeg and throughout Manitoba that carry their products, please visit the MBLL Liquor Marts website:
https://www.liquormarts.ca/liquormarts
Go to “Find a Product” and type “Tzafona.” Both wines will appear. Select the wine you’re interested in, then click “Store Inventory.” A list of all MBLL Liquor Marts that carry that product will be displayed.
Marsha adds that “We are hoping to have more listings of Tzafona wines available for Pesach this year, and we will be presenting them to MBLL for their approval.
“L’Chaim!”
Local News
Thanks to a Grant from the Asper Foundation the Gwen Secter Centre will Soon Begin Offering Free Kosher Shabbat Meals to Jewish Seniors
By BERNIE BELLAN In these increasingly difficult times – when so many families are finding it difficult to make ends meet, one group in society in particular is being hard hit by escalating food prices: seniors.
As food prices continue to rise, many seniors are struggling to afford many food items that they had always enjoyed previously. And, when it comes to Jewish seniors who might want to continue to remain kosher, the struggle is even more difficult – as the price of kosher meat and chicken has gone up even faster than the price of nonkosher meat and chicken.
Now, in an attempt to provide a modicum of comfort to some of those Jewish seniors, the Gwen Secter Centre, with support from the Asper Foundation, is about to begin providing kosher Shabbat meals for up to 50 Jewish seniors on a weekly basis.
Here is how Becky Chisick, executive director of the Gwen Secter Centre, describes what is going to be called the “Mitzvah Meal Program” will work: “We will be launching a new food security program supported by The Asper Foundation. Food security is a going concern is our community, especially with seniors living on a fixed income. The Mitzvah Meal program will ensure no one in the Jewish community is unable to celebrate Shabbat and other important Jewish holidays throughout the year. This program will transform the lives of so many seniors.
“Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre will be working closely with Jewish Child and Family Services to identify those who qualify for the program. There are many seniors that are not able to access Kosher Meals on Wheels (which is already a subsidized program thanks to the Jewish Federation), due to financial restrictions. The Mitzvah Meal Program, Supported by The Asper Foundation, has different criteria than the Kosher Meals on Wheels program.
“During the pandemic, we quickly realized how many seniors were not able to celebrate Shabbat due to lack of resources and finances. The Mitzvah Meal program will provide up to 50 individual low-income seniors with a healthy and fresh Shabbat (meat) meal, including chicken soup, challah bun, full entree of chicken, starch and vegetables, and dessert. In addition, they will receive special holiday foods and tools, so everyone is able to celebrate Shabbat and other Jewish holidays. For example: latkes and sufganiyot for Chanukkah, hamantaschen for Purim, etc. Those that are able to light candles at their residence will also get Shabbat and Chanukkah candles.”
Becky added, however, that “We still require close to $10,000 to ensure we can accommodate the max for a year and I plan to apply to The Jewish Foundation for the support.”
We contacted Anita Wortzman, president of the Asper Foundation, to ask her how the Asper Foundation became involved in this program. Anita responded: “The Asper Foundation is thrilled to support Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre and their new Mitzvah Meal Program. We believe that seniors in our community should be treated with the dignity, comfort and connection that Shabbat and the Jewish holidays bring. The long-term work of Gwen Secter Living Centre in delivering kosher meals on wheels, makes this a wonderful extension of that service to the Jewish community.”
As to how recipients of the “Mitzvah Meals” are chosen, we received this response from Alexis Wenzowski, Chief Operating Officer of JCFS: “Our priority will be ensuring that low-income seniors, those experiencing social isolation, and those facing mobility or transportation challenges are referred into the Gwen Secter program in a timely and effective manner.
“We have shared information about the Gwen Secter Food Security for Seniors Program across our Mental Health and Addictions, Settlement and Integration, and Older Adult Services teams. These program areas collectively serve some of the most marginalized and isolated seniors in our community, many of whom face complex barriers to accessing nutritious kosher food. We foresee there to be many referrals from these JCFS (programs into the Gwen Secter initiative. We are grateful and excited there will now be a formalized cooked meal Shabbat program for food insecure seniors.”
Alexis added this note about the number of individuals within our Jewish community who seek assistance from JCFS as a result of financial pressures: “JCFS is keenly aware that financial stressors and the cost-of-living crisis is impacting everyone. Food insecurity continues to be a significant and growing concern across our community, as it is in all communities. In the past year alone, our Asper Empowerment Program supported 179 unique households, with 7,542 kg of food security supports. An additional 122 households received employment and financial supports — including interest-free loans, grants, gift cards, and budgeting guidance — underscoring the breadth of need we are seeing. People are struggling.”
As noted, however, while Becky Chisick stated that the Asper Foundation funding will help to get the program going, the Jewish Foundation is being approached to provide additional funding in order to guarantee that the program can continue for at least one year. In the meantime though, if you would be interested in making a donation to help fund the program, Becky encourages you to make your contribution to the Gwen Secter Centre, stipulating that you want the money to go to the Mitzvah Meal Program.
One more note: While there are already some volunteer drivers in place once the program begins, more are still needed. To volunteer as a driver, contact Vanessa Ordiz at the Gwen Secter Centre: vanessa@gwensecter.com or phone 204-339-1701. Volunteers will be provided quarterly tax receipts for their service.
At the same time, by volunteering as a driver, it will allow for meaningful connections between clients and volunteers. For many clients this may be the only person they connect with that day.
Local News
Community leader Sheldon Zamick role model of perseverance despite life’s vicissitudes
By MYRON LOVE For Sheldon Zamick, life is a marathon, not a sprint – and there is always more to learn. In a life marked by struggles, he has overcome adversity and written a story of success both in business and community leadership.
Over the years, he has given of his time and experience to a great variety of charitable organization – including the Jewish Federation, the CJA, the JNF, Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the Canadian Magen David Adom, the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue (he is currently the Board’s finance chair), the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Mount Carmel Clinic, the Variety Club, Muscular Dystrophy, Habitat for Humanity, Siloam Mission, and the Canadian Institute for the Blind. The most recent charitable organization that has benefited from his leadership has been the Lake Winnipeg Research Consortium.
He took on his most recent challenge as executive director of the Lake Winnipeg Research Consortium last year after stepping away from a 40-year career in real estate sales. “This is a really big responsibility,” he says of taking the helm of the LWRC.
As noted on the LWRC webpage, the organization was founded in 1998 “to facilitate scientific research on Lake Winnipeg following evidence of water quality deterioration related to the 1997 Red River ‘Flood of the Century’. The LWRC was incorporated in Manitoba in 2001 and received charitable status in 2008”.
“Our organization does vital research in regard to Lake Winnipeg,” Zamick points out. “Our 328-ton, 110-foot-long ship, the MV Namao – which celebrated its 50th birthday this past August (during which over 1200 supporters toured the boat) in Gimli – is out regularly in the spring, summer and fall on Lake Winnipeg taking water samples. We provide the research platform for scientists to conduct research with regard to climate change and the state of the lake and fish population. We offer science education year round, group tours and summer camp programs for kids.”
He adds that the consortium works closely with many stakeholders, including the Universities of Manitoba and Winnipeg, and receives funding from the Winnipeg Foundation, the Canada Water Agency, Manitoba Hydro, the Manitoba Government, the City of Winnipeg, the town of Gimli, other municipalities and many individual donors.
“It has been great getting the opportunity to meet with various government officials, research partners and donors,” he says.
Sheldon Zamick is a role model demonstrating that an individual growing up in humble surroundings and having to deal with adverse circumstances can succeed in life. He recalls how he had to go to work early in life – at the age of 12 – to help support his family. “We moved around a lot when I was growing up in the North End because my parents could never afford to buy their own home,” he recounts. “That is what drew me to a career in real estate.”
His first job, he says, was peeling potatoes in the basement at Kelekis (a long gone North End Winnipeg restaurant which those of us of a certain age still fondly remember). “I had to learn at an early age to be self-sufficient,” he notes.
In his university days, he worked part time as a corrrections officer – taking as many shifts he could get – at the Winnipeg Remand Centre.
He also demonstrated his leadership capacity at an early age. At 17, he served as president of the USY chapter at the former Rosh Pina Synagogue (even though his parents couldn’t afford to be members of the shul).
After graduating from the University of Manitoba with degrees in Economics and Psychology, he founded TV Facts Magazine, a free weekly TV and shopping guide which some readers may remember. “TV Facts was part of an international chain of publications,” he recounts. “I had to travel to New York to learn how to run a magazine. At our peak, we were putting out 50,000 copies a week – which were available in over 500 locations.”
It was in 1985 that Zamick pursued his interest in becoming a realtor – a profession in which he excelled. Over 40 years as a realtor, he received numerous sales awards, also recognition for his leadership role in his profession and his numerous contributions to the wider community. In the former field, he served for five years as a member of the Winnipeg Real Estate Board, including a term as treasurer and chairing the Government Relations committee.
In 2013-14, he was elected as a director of the 120,000-member Canadian Real Estate Association.
Zamick was recruited into volunteering in the Jewish community, he notes, in the mid-1980s by Laurie Goldberg and the late Larry Rosenberg, who were co-chairs of the Federation’s Young Adult Division. Sheldon subsequently served as co-chair –with Sid Halpern – of the 1987-88 Combined Jewish Appeal’s New Gifts Division.
“We were responsible for contacting members of the community who hadn’t given for a long time,” he explains. “We were really successful in persuading many of them to contribute to the campaign and (by extension) the community.”
That year, he and current outgoing Federation president Paula Parks were nominated to receive our community’s Young Leadership award. Zamick was presented with the Harry Silverberg Young Leader of Distinction Award by Nora Kaufman, the late Harry Silverberg’s daughter.
He later served as the CJA’s campaign director from 1989 to 1992. “During the 1989-90 campaign – that included Operation Exodus (aimed to help Jews leave the dying Soviet Union) – we raised an extra $2 million- bringing in a total of $6-million that year.”
In 1992, Zamick was afflicted with a condition that might have derailed a lesser individual. He was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a condition that left him legally blind. The ever resilient Zamick however took the diagnosis in stride. In 2022, he told an online publication called “Slideshare” that, after the diagnosis, he chose to be thankful for what he had rather than focus on what he had lost.
He added that while legally blind, he still has some sight in certain lighting. “It is a unique way to live,” he told Slideshare, “but you have to adapt to it and I haven’t let it stop me.”
He has been helped immensely by his longtime, supportive wife, Florence.
Typically, following his diagnosis, he threw himself into volunteering with the Canadian National Institute of the Blind. He served on the board of the CNIB for 16 years and was a leader in raising the funds one year – when the CNIB was facing government cutbacks.
Zamick is planning to retire from his current position at the end of this month. He says that he and Florence are looking forward to spending more time with family and friends, travelling –a pasttime they both enjoy, and getting together with their children – Natalie in Toronto and Steven and his wife Ally, along with granddaughters Isabella and Mikayla in Montreal.
He is however, still open to new possibilities. “You never know who might call next,” he observes.