JULY 28 • 2022 | 13
economic and political instability whose
residents may be looking for a more
stable living environment, Brotman
says, adding that he’d also like to
include South Africa, where he moved
from 10 years ago.
CROSSING THE RIVER
Brotman, who has been living in
Windsor about a year-and-a-half after
stints in Boston, Israel and South
Africa, says the program and its
leadership are ready to help people
interested in crossing the river for more
agreeable living conditions. “There
are a lot of people who say, ‘We’re not
happy with what’s happening with the
elections; why don’t we just move to
Canada,’” he says. “We would love to
help them in any way we can, and we
have a program to help them. They
don’t have to sever their links at all
because we’re right across the river.”
He has been helping guide people like
Kaitlin Mosseri, her husband, Nathan,
and their 5-year-old daughter, who
are eagerly eyeing a move from Metro
Detroit to Windsor. When a draft of
the Supreme Court decision that would
overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked May 2,
the family of three decided it was time
to get moving.
After reaching out to the Windsor
JCC’s immigration service, they toured
the facility and connected with a
Reform synagogue nearby.
“We’ve only been at this a little while,
but it feels like we’re really building a
network out there for when we’re really
able to land,” Nathan Mosseri says.
He adds that he and his wife want to
get as involved with synagogues locally
in Canada as they have been in the U.S.,
both for themselves and to provide
consistency for their daughter. “We’re
hoping that staying involved in the
Jewish community will help her make
the transition easier.”
Between May 2 and the end of June,
they completed their paperwork to
be put in a pool of those applying
for permanent residency. While they
haven’t been selected yet, the Waterford
residents say they’re hopeful by the end
of the summer it will be their turn to
move across the border, where they
hope to find a better life for their
child.
“Roe v. Wade has been the big
kicker for us,” says Kaitlin Mosseri.
“We started the process when the Roe
v. Wade draft was released, and we
are currently waiting on an express
entry.”
In the meantime, they’ve been
getting to know Windsor’s Jewish
community, which includes many
individuals and families with close
ties to Metro Detroit. Part of the
draw is that they’ll also be only a
short drive from family in the U.S.,
Kaitlin says.
“Windsor is so close, and we’ll be
able to continue to have those close
relationships with my daughter’s
grandparents, who live in Waterford
and West Bloomfield,” she says. “Rosh
Hashanah will still be coming up,
Purim, Passover … It’s just a really
stable piece of her life that will continue
over there.”
DETROIT CONNECTION
Meanwhile, for Jews considering
moving to one of the initiative’s cities,
having access to Detroit’s kosher
restaurants, supermarkets and Jewish
day schools are a big draw, says
Brotman, who himself goes to Detroit
several times a week.
“I consider them to be the same city,
and I tell people I get the best of both
worlds — I get universal healthcare
and peace, but at the same time I get
everything Detroit has to offer. I get
to be part of a much larger Jewish
community while still living on the
other side of the border.”
Brotman says he would overall like
to see Windsor and Detroit’s Jewish
communities become even further
integrated. “I’d like there to be more
fluidity between people going to events,
synagogues and just living,” he says.
“You can live in one community and
participate in the other.”
Efforts are underway to help develop
stronger bonds between Detroit’s
Jewish community and its Canadian
continued on page 14
Participants came
together at an art
gallery in Windsor.
Nathan and Kaitlin Mosseri at
the Windsor Riverfront in 2013,
nine years before they started
planning to make it their home.