Local News
Winnipegger David Ganetsky becoming go-to guy for mould and asbestos removal throughout Western Canada
By MYRON LOVE David Ganetsky’s Enviro Doctors is fast becoming the preeminent specialist throughout Western and Northern Canada when it comes to mould and asbestos removal. In the past year alone, Ganetsky points out, his employee numbers have grown from 10 to 35.
“Over the past couple of years, our business has been growing exponentially,” he reports. “We currently have seven crews (each consisting of four members) operating in places such as Thompson, Brandon and The Pas. We have one crew that specializes in mould removal.
“We have contracts for projects – beyond Manitoba – in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Northwestern Ontario, Nunavut and Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. None of our competitors match our geographical reach.”
Ganetsky and Enviro Doctors have come a long way in just nine years but, for the long time resident of Garden City, his latest reincarnation is built on his many years of experience as an entrepreneur. The son of Walter and Penny Ganetsky notes that he was inspired to pursue a career largely in business by his work with his zaida, the late Bernard Mondell, who was in the wholesale business.
Following high school graduation (from Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate), he began looking for business opportunities. “My first business venture was in communication,” he recalls. “I founded Delta Communications, one of the original cell phone providers in Winnipeg.”
He learned the art of business largely by hands-on experience but, he points out, he also took a number of business courses over several years.”
Ganetsky’s work history also includes working in sales in the golf business and serving for two years as executive director of the Portsmouth Retirement Residence. His entry into mould and asbestos removal came about through his work as a business consultant.
“I was hired by a company involved in mould remediation and removal to help grow their sales,” he recounts. “After helping them to achieve their goal, I could see that there was a void in the marketplace. There was no company specializing specifically in mould removal. I did some research into the industry, took a few courses and proceeded to open The Mould Doctors.”
That was in 2014.
As business grew, Ganetsky notes, he began to get a growing number of calls asking about asbestos removal as well. As a result, in 2016, he changed the company name to Enviro Doctors to better encapsulate the services Ganetsky offers.
(He later added a demolition service.)
The mould and asbestos removal maven points out that there are very stringent guidelines to be followed in his line of work, in particular when it comes to asbestos removal. “We are required to do a yearly audit,” he says. “We have one fulltime staff member dedicated to ongoing training.”
Ganetsky observes that there is a clear relationship between mould build-up and health issues. It has only been in recent years that doctors have become aware of the link between mould build-up and ongoing flu-like symptoms and respiratory ailments such as asthma, he reports
He adds though that not everyone is affected negatively by mould build-up. He explains that mould build-up is created by a combination of high humidity or moisture, resulting from a spill or a leak, and a “food source,” such as drywall or furniture.
“Much of the time, mould is invisible,” he notes. “We at EnviroDoctors can do an air quality test which will confirm the presence of build-up.”
Homeowners can remove small amounts of mould, he suggests, by spraying the affected area with a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water, then wiping way the black film.
He points out that mould is a particular problem in Aboriginal communities. “We have sent our teams into numerous First Nations bands throughout Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwestern Ontario and the North. There was one such community, for example, where about one-third of the houses had mould problems.
“Most of these communities suffer from overcrowding, neglect and lack of knowledge how to prevent mould build-up,” he points out. “As part of our service, we try to teach the community members how to prevent the development of mould.”
Ganetsly notes that he is proud of the fact that the environmentally-friendly formula Enviro Doctors uses for mould removal was developed in a Canadian laboratory.
He further touts Enviro Doctors’ “fresh air guarantee,” which includes free air quality testing and a follow-up test 90 days after completion of the work.
Enviro Doctors’ potentially most high-profile project to date may be the upcoming excavation of Winnipeg’s Prairie Green Landfill in hopes of finding the remains of two or three female Indigenous murder victims. While the original estimate for the project was around $180 million, a new report released in late January by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and ISN Maskwa (an Indigenous-owned company that provides emergency response training and services) suggest that the work can be carried out for about $90 million.
“We have been approached to participate in the project,” Ganetsky reports. “That landfill is one that accepts asbestos.”
Ganetsky states that he believes that excavation is doable, providing fundinf can be found. “Wab (Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew) is on board,” Ganetsky notes. “Maybe we find something. Maybe we find nothing. But at least it may give the families of the murder victims some closure.”
Local News
First year medical student Tim Rozovsky founds new association for local Jewish medical students
By MYRON LOVE In the face of a concerning surge in antisemitism over the past nearly three years, I am happy to report a good news story in that regard. Tim Rozovsky, the founder of the new Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba, reports that he and his fellow Jewish students enrolled in the University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine are not experiencing any significant issues involving antisemitism.
Hopefully, the matter of the notorious Med school Valedictorian who used his podium to attack Israel was a one-off.
“My goal in forming the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba,” says the first year medical student, “was to create a safe, supportive environment for my fellow Jewish medical students.”
He reports that the current first year class at the school has eight Jewish students – an increase over more recent years – with maybe a dozen more in the other years.
For a new medical student, Rozovsky already has an impressive resume. He was born in Russia and grew up in Israel. After the completion of his army service in 2018, the then-22-year-old rejoined his parents, Dr. Katya and Alexander, who had moved to Winnipeg a few years before.
Prior to coming to Winnipeg, Rozovsky had completed a personal trainer program out of The Academic College at Wingate in Jerusalem. Some readers may know the young man from his work as a Master Personal Trainer at the Rady JCC.
Shortly after arriving here, he enrolled in a kinesiology program at the University of Winnipeg. He graduated with a BKin Honours in 2023 and did post graduate work at the University of Manitoba. Last fall, he received his MSc in Physiology and Pathophysiology – earning two gold medals, along with 32 awards and scholarships in the process.
Rozovsky says that it was his mother who inspired him to pursue a career in medicine. Dr. Katya Rozovsky is an associate professor at the University of Manitoba and an attending radiologist, specializing in pediatric diagnostic imaging.
(Tim also adds that his wife, Irina Gelzin, whom he married about a year ago, is training to be a nurse.)
Insofar as the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba is concerned, Rozovky reports that the group gets together multiple times a year. One of its programs was a joint Chanukah celebration with the Jewish Physicians Association of Manitoba.
There was also a joint program with the Christian Medical and Dental Students’ Association of Manitoba.
“More recently, we have been helping prospective Jewish medical students with their applications,” he says. “Hopefully we will be able to get together over the summer with the incoming Jewish students.”
As to his own future plans, Rozovsky notes that it is too early for him to be deciding on a specialty. “My goal,” he says, “is to work hard and get good grades and become the best doctor that I can be.”
Local News
Gray Academy to Represent Manitoba at National Reach for the Top Competition
By NOAH STRAUSS Posted June 6) Gray Academy’s Reach for the Top team is headed to Moncton, New Brunswick, to represent Manitoba at the National Reach for the Top tournament.
Reach for the Top is a Canadian school league that quizzes teenagers on a variety of different topics, from science and history to pop culture. Reach started out in 1961 in Vancouver, where a local CBC station broadcasted the new show; it eventually became a national broadcast starting in 1966. Alex Trebek, who famously hosted Jeopardy!, started out by hosting Reach for the Top.
Gray Academy’s very own team, made up of Grade 7 and 8 students, will travel to Moncton, New Brunswick, to compete as Team Manitoba. By winning the provincial Reach tournament, they secured their spot in the national competition.
Faculty members at Gray Academy are very supportive of the program. The Jewish Post spoke with three different staff members at the school. Coach and high school teacher Danielle Miller says she is excited for the trip; although she will not be accompanying the team herself, shehas coached them all year.
“This year we had over 20 students come to the club to join us, they practice twice a cycle at lunch,” Miller said. Due to the large turnout this year, two teams had to be formed. At lunch practices, students split into two teams of four where each player has a buzzer. The two teams compete to see who can answer the most questions correctly.
One of the two teams did exceptionally well at various tournaments throughout the year and will be traveling to nationals as the sole team representing Manitoba.
Co-coach Micah Doerksen described Reach as a great academic competition where young minds are tested on various topics through quick,fast-paced questions.
High school guidance counselor Lindsey Leipsic said, “We have athletes, non-athletes, we have students who are really involved and students who are not as involved at school, and we have quiet leaders, and we’ve seen friendships be built in Reach.” Some of her favorite memories of Reach involve seeing students from across Winnipeg come to Gray Academy and bond with one another. Lev Chisick, who is competing at nationals, agreed, saying, “Moncton is going to strengthen our school spirit and make us a better team.”
As the junior team makes their way to Moncton, the senior team will head to provincials. Later this week, students from the senior team will travel to Virden, Manitoba, to compete at the provincial level. The team qualified after placing high enough at their most recent tournament, which took place at St. Paul’s.
Confidence is high as the school heads into these final tournaments. When Nath Goldenberg, who is also competing at nationals, was asked what he is most looking forward to, his answer was short and sweet:“Winning.”
Local News
Team Schvesters teammates Benji Harvey, Kim Gray once again among top ten fundraisers in this year’s CancerCare Manitoba Foundation Challenge for Life event
By MYRON LOVE This year’s annual CancerCare Manitoba Foundation’s Challenge for Life walk at Assiniboine Park is scheduled for Sunday, June 13 – and, once again, in terms of fundraising, Team Schvesters is sitting in second place overall – having raised just over $30,500 as of May 26 – which is $5,000 more than the team members had raised by the same time last year.
As well, team members Benji Harvey and Kim Gray are once again in the top ten among individual fundraisers. Harvey this year sits in fifth place, having raised a little over $16,000 as of May 17 – while Gray has raised just above $8,000 – putting her in seventh place.
Harvey reports that, -over the past 18, years participating in CancerCare Manitoba Foundation’s Challenge for Life, she has personally raised $180,000 for cancer research, while her team as a whole has brought in $367,000. In discussing her success as a fundraiser, Harvey says that she has made a lot of friends over the years and believes in giving back to the community.
The “Schvesters” are the Greenfeld sisters: Harvey and sisters Lesly Katz and Debra Lewis – the daughters of Lil and the late Ike Greenfeld. Two of the sisters are cancer survivors.
There is one other team member – in addition to Kim Gray. Judge Rocky Pollack first joined Team Schvesters in 2023. After a year away in 2024, he returned last year. Pollack lost his wife, Sharon, to cancer in 2014 after a multi-year struggle.
Nancy’s Nightingales has been a top 10 community fundraising team for Cancercare Manitoba and the Challenge for Life since its inception in 2008. As a team, they have walked together since 2006 when they walked 60 km in two days in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer.
Last year, the team – including Louise Raber, Joanne Katz, Rhonda Youell, Connie Botelho and Harriet Lyons – finished fifth in fundraising. So far this year, the team is again sitting in fifth place –having raised just under $12,500 (as of May 26) – a couple of thousand dollars more than last year, and just about $300 behind the fourth place team.
The Nightingales are named after a nurse who is a cancer survivor- and a friend of Louise Raber, Nancy’s Nightingales team leader.
“Our goal, as always, is to raise at least one dollar more than last year,” says Raber.
Team Jason’s Journey team leader Jason Gisser has experienced a more intimate and longer-lasting relationship with cancer than many of the other Challenge for Life participants. He was first diagnosed with cancer when he was 18. “I am a proud cancer fighter, having lived and battled a chronic cancer diagnosis for the last 23 years,” he said in an earlier interview. “I participate in the Challenge for Life not only to give back for the care and treatment which I have and continue to receive through CancerCare Manitoba, but to ensure that others do not have to endure the journey which I have endured.”
This is the ninth year that Gisser has taken up the Challenge for Life. His teammates are returnee Nora Fien, as well as friends Danial Sprintz, Wendy Martin White and Jason Roberts, also his mother, Judge Freda Steele. He has personally raised about $5,500 this year, while the team as a whole has raised just over $7,000.
“The Challenge for Life is great opportunity to raise valuable dollars for cancer research and treatment,” Gisser notes.
Readers can make donations to their preferred team by going online to CancerCarefdn.mb.ca and click on Challengeforlife.ca.
