The weather has grown chillier and yellow leaves have strewn our lawns, schools and roads. With cold winds gusting and shaking up the cars on the highways, you need to make sure that you keep yourself warm and healthy. Make sure that you kids have enough layers of clothes when you send them to school in the mornings. Take extra measures to wrap yourselves and your family in layers as you head out in the evenings tis’ the season of hollyjolly and you will go out on Santa parades and train rides.

As you do so, also bear in mind to watch your diabetes – if you have it – blood pressure and cholesterol. November is Diabetes awareness month.

Given that, South Asian Chapter of Canadian Diabetes Association had organized an awareness seminar at Centre for Information and Services (CICS) to give South Asian community of the GTA the information on medication, diet and healthier life style to treat , prevent and delay diabetes in our families.

Given South Asian eating habits that we have inherited from our parents who had immigrated from South Asian, or being new comers, we need to ensure that food preparation methods and food preservation in Canada is quite different from what we had in South Asia. There are many more opportunities to eat out at all different hours in Canada because women are working and not necessarily at home to cook meals all the time.( Not that cooking is women’s job exclusively)

In these circumstances, experts’ advise that supper should be made “a family thing” where healthy life style can be adopted as a family.  Going to gym a few times a week, eating smaller portions of food, not eating too late at night are just the few tips to keep in mind.

If you have any nutrition related questions, do not hesitate to contact Ontario government. Government’s initiatives are for you to take benefit from. You pay taxes from your hard earned money to get access to these services, so make use of them. Call EatRight Ontario if you are not sure of any nutrition related matter.

Your government is there to help you. And that is the reason you read news stories related to government’s initiatives in Generation Next and other media. Call the numbers given in the articles as well as on the advertisements. The support you need is there. Please make use of it, ask for what you need. And do not be afraid. Your information and your conversations are kept private. Anything you say or any help you may ask for are mostly confidential.

And while you are taking care of yourself and your loved ones, also watch your elected representatives and what they are doing for you. There is a federal by-election on Monday Nov 29^th. Go out and vote. Encourage your family to vote. And youth have an absolute obligation to have a say in political process. The legislations passed in the legislatures today are going to affect Generation Next the most. If you believe you are paying higher taxes, you are partially to be blamed because when the government raised a tax, you didn’t say anything, thinking ‘we will have to pay taxes anyway’ because that is not completely accurate. The Ontario government repealed the eco tax this summer because of Ontarians outcry over the eco tax. True, implementation has not been across the board in all retail stores but it will be if you have your say.

To support women’s heritage month Neelam and Pankaj Kapoor organized an event showcasing diversity, empowerment and talent among multicultural women in Peel.

The event featured motivational speeches, singing, art/ jewellery display and a fashion show featuring Fall collection by Neelam Creations. Fall Queen-Chantelle was crowned by Guest of Honor Anokhi Dalvi-First runner up in Miss India Canada 2010.

One of the senior guests Joan Cascanette of French Canadian origin said “it is very important for women to come together. She is very happy to be a part of this event which was excellent and well organized.”

Another guest Eula Selkridge, the mother of three and an employee with Peel Region said “the event was inspiring, unique and motivational. One needs to be supportive and always be yourself.”

Nav Saini mother of a five year old Yash and three year old Ryan was one of the fashion show models. She currently works as Account Manager with BDC and wants to work for Sick Kids hospital. She believes that self-confidence can make a women achieve any goal.

All women participants, guests and speakers experienced a strong ethnic bond and enjoyed networking and connecting. Guests attending agreed to join hands in future and support such events for women in Peel.

The federal government has introduced quite a few crime legislations that have raised controversy among political parties. Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has been opposed to Young Offenders Act as well as scrapping the long-gun registry.

Speaking to reporters, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff said “the paradox of the Conservative government is that they keep introducing stuff that chiefs don’t like. That wanted to scrap long-gun registry..every police chief I have ever talked to says that the long gun registry is an essential public safety. As a Liberal my view of public safety is simple, I listen to what police say. And there is this weird thing in which this supposed law and order party – the Conservative – don’t listen to people who actually know something about public safety which is police chiefs.”

Michael Ignatieff, leader of federal Liberal Party

Tony Geneco, Liberal candidate from Vaughn

Organizers of the meet and greet with MP Ignatieff and MP Sukh Dhaliwal

Mr. Ignatieff was campaigning in Vaughn alongside the liberal candidate Tony Genco. His contender in Vaughn is former Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Chief Julian Fantino. Mr. Fantino was the OPP Police chief when the G-8/G-20 debacle occurred. $101 million were given to OPP for the G-8/G-20 Summit. The Conservative government has not provided the details of how the funds were used by OPP.

“It seems like there’s only one reason why the Conservatives would refuse to disclose this information: to protect their candidate in the Vaughan by-election – former OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino – in case the details of his spending prove to be a political liability,” said Liberal MP Frank Valeriote.

Addressing the South Asian community of Vaughn, a riding that has been held by Liberals for over 22 years, Mr. Ignatieff said Liberal Party “is the party that built the ladder..where everyone is equal..we are the party that created Charter of Rights and Freedom..immigrant success story is made successful by the Liberal Party.”

“Canada is a country that gives a new start to everybody,” he emphasized.

Highlighting the significance of Vaughn, Mr. Ignatieff said that Vaughn represents 21^st century Canada where all communities co-exist in harmony and all religions are practised. Although Liberals have held this riding for 22 years, Mr. Ignatieff says “we have to earn every vote.”

MP Sukh Dhaliwal from British Columbia, MP Judy Srgo (York West), MP Maria Minna (Beaches – East York), MP Ruby Dhalla (Brampton Springdale) had also joined MP Ignatieff and Mr. Tony Genco in Vaughn.

By: Staff Writer

____________________

Tony Genco touts Liberal commitment to transit and jobs at leading Woodbridge manufacturing company

VAUGHAN – Vaughan Liberal candidate Tony Genco was joined today by MPP Greg Sorbara and Liberal Finance Critic Scott Brison to celebrate the expansion of a Woodbridge-based company that manufactures motors for transit vehicles.

Sherwood Electromotion, a family-owned business based in Vaughan since 1977, has announced the purchase of a new 120,000 square foot facility in Vaughan – more than 4 times the size of its current location at Hwy 407 and Pine Valley Drive.  Formerly a Chrysler plant, the company will move into the new facility in January.

“This is an example of what can happen when governments invest in green technology and in transit, and make it a priority to create jobs here in our backyard,” said Genco.

MPP Greg Sorbara said the Ontario government has made unprecedented $9-billion investment in public transit throughout Ontario and the GTA.  “We have backed up these investments with a requirement to create Canadian jobs,” said Sorbara.  “This announcement will mean good jobs for Vaughan residents.”

Sherwood’s planned expansion is linked to the supply of traction motors for new City of Toronto streetcars – which the federal government refused to support.

Liberal Finance critic Scott Brison said we are all players in the fight to improve transit in the Greater Toronto Area and that the federal government should be at the table. “Under Liberal economic management, Vaughan will experience more business success stories like Sherwood Electromotion,” said Brison.

Sherwood CEO George Gavrilidis said the company sees significant opportunities in the growing transit market, both in Canada and in the United States, and needs to expand its footprint in order to take advantage of the new market.

Genco said workers in the GTA will be manufacturing the very technology that will help their friends and neighbors get to work every day.  “Vaughan is home to some of Ontario’s most exciting and innovative manufacturers.  Ottawa should be standing shoulder to shoulder with growing businesses like Sherwood Electromotion,” said Genco.

In a roundtable discussion with Gavrilidis and other company officials, Genco and Brison discussed the Liberal plan to improve the Vaughan’s economy – a balanced and credible fiscal approach to tackle the deficit while investing in priorities that includes:

Eliminating Stephen Harper’s $56 billion deficit;

Fiscal prudence by restoring a reserve as a buffer to achieve targets;

Spending restraint by finding targeted, sustainable savings; and

Freezing corporate income tax rates at their current level until Canada can afford to lower them further.

“The choice for Canadians is clear: the Liberals, with a track record of fiscal responsibility and a plan to make strategic investments in lasting economic legacies, or the Conservatives, who spent Canada into deficit before the recession and want to waste billions more on fighter jets, prisons, and tax cuts we can’t afford right now” said Brison.

By: Staff Writer

The Prime Minister of Canada recognized Deepak Obhrai as the person who first raised the need for a free trade agreement between Canada and India.  “We have launched negotiations aimed at producing a Comprehensive Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement..when the idea was first raised in the House of Commons, by Deepak Obhrai [in 2005],” the Prime Minister said.

Deepak Obhrai, M.P. and Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation hosted the 10^th National Diwali Celebration on Parliament Hill on Tuesday, November 16.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper joined Deepak and an overflowing crowd of more than 500 people at the Government Conference Centre in Ottawa,  which included Members of Parliament, members of the diplomatic corps and Indo-Canadians from Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal. More than 25 Hindu temples and community organizations from Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal sent representatives to the event,  underlying the significance that the South Asian and Indo-Canadian community places on this important event.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Deepak Obhrai, Member of Parliament, light the traditional lamp in celebration of Diwali while Dr. Budhendranauth Doobay, Pandit from the Vishnu Mandir, Toronto, conducts the ceremony.

Welcoming the audience, Deepak noted that the overflowing crowd gathered to witness the celebration is testament to the fact that Canada is truly a multi-cultural country.

Deepak pointed out that this is the fifth occasion Prime Minister Harper has attended the National Diwali celebration, and thanked the Prime Minister for his support for the Indo-Canadian community and for his vision towards enhancing Indo-Canadian relations.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper in his speech recognized Deepak as a trail-blazer whose path will be followed by many others.  He congratulated Deepak for once again hosting a glittering Diwali celebration.

“It is just one of so many things you have done over the course of your eventful and productive life to bring people, communities, and even countries, together. As the founding president of the Canada-India Parliamentary Friendship Group, for example, you have made tremendous contributions to strengthening relations between Canada and India. Since coming to Canada more than 30 years ago, you have succeeded at everything you put your hand to in business and in politics. You and your wife Neena have also raised a lovely family, which now includes third-generation-Canadian Ohbrais. And through all this you have blazed a trail into the mainstream of Canadian life that has become a well-worn path for hundreds of thousands of Indo-Canadians,” the Prime Minister said.

Jason Kenney, Minister for Multiculturalism, Citizenship & Immigration, Indian High Commissioner Shashishekar Gavai and ambassadors from Pakistan, Tanzania, Sri Lanka and Taiwan and a number of Parliamentarians and Senators  were among the guests of honour.

The 10^th National Diwali Celebration on Parliament Hill was organized by the India Canada Association of the National Capital Region and the Indo Canada Ottawa Business Chamber, in association with the office of Deepak Obhrai, M.P.

This summer, I took the opportunity to knock on constituents’ doors in many of Nickel Belt’s communities. The most prevalent issue among constituents – no matter what their age – was retirement security, including pensions.

Sadly, Canadians have good reason to worry. What happened this summer is a perfect example. Despite three years of economic turbulence, the Harper government has raised Old Age Security (OAS) payments by a measly $1.50 a year. Meanwhile, 225,000 seniors live in poverty. Cost of living is on the rise, bills are piling up and with HST being applied to home fuel, too many seniors just can’t cope. Not only is Harper’s plan inadequate — it’s insulting.

Seniors are the ones who built this country. From coast-to-coast-to-coast, their hard work is what has made Canada great. They deserve to live with dignity.

The NDP has taken the lead on a new bill that will make life more affordable for seniors. The Seniors CPI Act offers crucial support to our aging population by: ensuring programs like the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) are indexed to the cost of living; linking seniors support pro-grams to the Consumer Price Index — as most other govern-ment programs already do; and creating a new measure to take into account purchases that are specific to seniors.

In addition to the Seniors CPI Act, the NDP is calling for an immediate hike in GIS payments to lift seniors out of poverty. We’re also pushing to: make prescription drugs more affordable; eliminate HST off home fuel; increase Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits; and shield pensions from corpo-rate creditors.

These measures come with a cost to the federal treasury how-ever a national drug plan, which would make drugs more afford-able could save the government billions of dollars.

We only have to look at recent expenditures and planned expenditures of Mr. Harper to know the federal government has the capacity to make the right investments. The problem is it has chosen the wrong priorities. Let’s take a look at what Harper has done, by the numbers:

$16 billion for a fighter jet contract that was awarded with no competition at all.

$9 billion for prisons, even though national crime rates are dropping.

$1 billion for a 72-hour G8/G20 summit photo-op.

$130 million in advertis-ing–including $49.5 million for signs–last year alone.

In its annual survey, Food Banks Canada noted that food banks across Canada helped 867,948 separate individuals in March 2010, an increase of 9.2% compared to March 2009, and an increase of 28% compared to 2008.

The HungerCount 2010 report also noted two other worrying trends: 14% of those being helped are from rural Canada, up from 11% in 2009; and almost 61,000 seniors had to rely on the food bank.

We have to act now.

Author:Claude Gravelle is the MP for Nickel Belt, NDP critic for FedNor and La Francophonie, and NDP deputy critic for Industry (mining).

How much longer do we have to endure the “Harper hypocrisy”? Don’t know what I’m talking about? Or maybe you do (since it’s a long list), but need a more specific example? Let’s just look back to this past week, shall we?

On November 16, the Senate (made of up Conservatives, Liberals and one independent) defeated the Climate Change Accountability Act (Bill C-311) in a snap vote at second reading with a vote of 43-32, with all Conservative Senators, plus the Speaker and independent Anne Cools opposed. Since the bill was defeated at second reading, it was not studied by a senate committee, and no witnesses were heard.

C-311 was the country’s only federal climate change legislation. It passed twice in a minority parliament, first as C-377 in 2008 (at the time, it was the first legislation in the world to establish post-Kyoto greenhouse gas reduction targets), and again in May 2010. It would have made the government accountable to Canadians for action on climate change through regular reporting on measures to achieve firm targets (25% below 1990 greenhouse gas emission levels by 2020, and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050). Economic modeling done last year by M. K. Jaccard and Associates clearly showed that Canada could meet C-311’s targets while growing the economy, increasing jobs, and improving quality of life in every province.

Technically, the Senate is supposed to provide “sober second thought” but after a move like this, killing good, solid legislation for Canada, I’m questioning if they were drunk to begin with.

Just a short while ago Mr. Harper stated that “an appointed Senate is a relic of the 19th Century.”  In 2004, he promised never to appoint any Senators until the Upper Chamber became an elected body. Far from the Senate becoming any more democratic, Mr. Harper has gone back on his word and stacked this legislative body with people who have made hefty donations to the party or his buddies.

This hypocritical and undemocratic body is also pretty expensive. Remember when the Conservatives said it was important for public officials to tighten their belts, just as average Canadians were doing during the recession? Annually, the Senate patronage spree costs millions. The average Senator receives $130,400 in salary and spends about $89,539 a year on travel. By the way, did you know that the Senate of Canada sits three days a week?

The fact is that Stephen Harper’s unelected Senators have no business overruling the decisions of Canada’s elected representatives. It is virtually unprecedented for the unelected Senate to defeat a bill passed by the elected House.

Stephen Harper promised to act on climate change, just like he promised not to stack the Senate and not to keep our troops in Afghanistan past 2011 – I guess breaking promises gets easier the more you do it.

Author: Rupinder Kur

The Government of Ontario’s Fall Economic Update has projected a billion dollar lower deficit than was expected in 2010 budget projection. The current deficit stands at $18.7 billion.

Speaking to Generation Next, Dr. Eric Hoskins Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration said that “we’re making good progress..[that means] we are recovering from recession..the growth rate is expected to rise just over three per cent, but we need to be careful..[as] growth is expected to moderate a little bit.” 

Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Citizenship & Immigration

Harinder Takhar, Minister of Government Services

Dwight Duncan, Minister of Finance

Minister Hoskins noted that the Ontario government recognizes that Ontarians are facing challenging times.

Addressing the question about job losses, Minister Hoskins said “we have regained 75 per cent of the jobs.. we are doing a lot well as compared to the US. In the US only about 10 per cent of the jobs have been regained.”

“The past couple of years have been tough economic times for many families, individuals, and businesses. We are mindful of these challenges and as a result, our government has decided to provide clean energy tax relief. Our government will continue to focus on a clean and reliable supply of energy,” said Mr. Harinder Takhar, Minister of Government Services, noting the difficulties Ontarians are facing.

A few months ago when the issue of exo-tax was raised, the Ontario government repealed it. “The government heard Ontarians loud and clear,” Minister Hoskins says. However, this eco tax is still hidden in charges at some of the local retail stores.

The Ontario Government has also introduced the Ontario Clean Energy Benefit (OCEB) that will give 10 per cent rebate to Ontarians on their hydro bills. At the same time, however, there will be 46 per cent increase in residential hydro bills over the next five years, a move that is very likely to anger Ontarians who are not satisfied with the progress in job regain and Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). The prices will double in another two decades.

“For a long time, governments of all political stripes have neglected the electricity sector, and that’s why we have made the necessary investments to build a cleaner system and to ensure the lights go on and stay on. Ontarians are asking for some assistance with rising costs, especially their electricity costs, and every little bit helps during these lean times,” said Mr. Dwight Duncan, Minister of Finance.

Explaining why this investment made, Mr. Hoskins noted that “we inherited electrical system that was in a state of despair in 2003…we are investing in create[ing] an electric system that is reliable and clean and meets the needs of Ontarians. You will remember the blackout in the beginning of this decade.”

By: Staff Writer

A groundbreaking ceremony was held today to mark the start of construction of Tomken Station, along the Mississauga bus rapid transit corridor. Her Worship Hazel McCallion, Mayor of Mississauga; Bob Dechert, Member of Parliament, Mississauga-Erindale; Amrit Mangat, parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Transportation and Member of Provincial Parliament for Mississauga-Brampton South; and Judy Knight, Metrolinx vice-president of Corporate Infrastructure, participated in the event.

This project, which is expected to start service in spring 2013, will improve local and inter-regional bus operations across the City of Mississauga. The system will cover 18 kilometres across Mississauga along the Highway 403, Eastgate Parkway and Eglinton Avenue corridors between Winston Churchill Boulevard in the west and Renforth Drive in the east. A total of 12 stations will be constructed along the route, with 11 new stations and one existing station incorporated into the busway.

“We are making Mississauga a transit-oriented city,” said Mayor Hazel McCallion. “The bus rapid transit system is an example of what can be done when we put our funding together to move our transit plans forward for the people of Mississauga. It is the key to our city’s future and that of the GTA. Regional transit links will connect people with cities, fuel our economies and improve the environment.”

Mayor Hazel McCallion of Mississauga

Amrit Mangat, MPP from Mississauga South

Bob Dechert, Conservative MP from Mississauga Erindale

JudyKnight, Metrolinx vice president of Corporate Infrastructure

“Investments in public transit create jobs and boost the Canadian economy,” said MP Dechert. “This rapid transit system will provide commuters in Mississauga with a more efficient transit option, while cutting commute times and taking more cars off the road.”

“We are pleased to work with our government partners as part of our Open Ontario plan to create jobs and improve public transit across this important transportation corridor,” said MPP Mangat. “We are working together to create an integrated transportation network across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. This network will make it easier for the people of Mississauga to travel across the region.”

“We are pleased to work with our government partners to improve public transit in Peel Region,” said Ms. Knight. “We are working together to bring an integrated transportation network for all of our customers, making it easier for them to move around.”

The two most critical priorities on the global agenda, trade and climate change, once again got pushed under the Group of Twenty (G20) carpet last week in Seoul. Of the two, trade is the most immediately critical. There is a grave risk that the world economy will collapse into a protectionist spiral. The best means to ensure that this does not happen is to conclude the Doha Round. Rather than address the issue seriously, the G20 has again done no more than pray the lid will stay on the protectionist cauldron.

Seoul was a variation on what has become by now a depressingly familiar G20 theme. At the Washington 2008 summit the leaders declared they would instruct their trade ministers to conclude the Round before the end of the year. In April the following year in London, it was to be concluded by 2009. In Pittsburgh, the moveable feast was postponed to 2010. This June in Toronto, it was deemed safest to opt for the vague “as soon as possible”.

So what did the “Leaders’ Declaration” from the November 2010 Seoul summit have to say on the subject? The relevant Article (43) declares that “2011 is a critical window of opportunity” and consequently “we direct our negotiators…to promptly bring the Doha Development Round to a successful, ambitious, comprehensive, and balanced conclusion”.

There are four points to be raised here. First, the language is not only depressingly similar to that used in all previous G20 summit declarations, but also to meetings on trade convened by the League of Nations in the late 1920s and early 1930s!

Second: 2011 a window of opportunity? With France in the G20 presidency? Nicolas Sarkozy is a visceral protectionist. While leadership could have been hoped for from Korea on trade, any such expectations in respect to France should be rapidly obliterated!

Third, it is not up to the trade negotiators to conclude the Round, but the heads of government themselves. Trade negotiators take orders from their political bosses. Fourth, and most critical, there will be no conclusion to the Doha Round until and unless big business really commits. In parallel to the G20 summit, Seoul hosted a B20 summit of business leaders. The business leaders present did make the case for the revitalisation of trade.

However, business does not speak with one voice. One big disappointment at Seoul was that US President Barack Obama and Korean President Lee Myung-bak failed to conclude the bilateral US-Korea free trade agreement. This was a vital litmus test; its conclusion could have served as a lynchpin to a renewed trade agenda. A major opponent and obstacle was the Ford Motor Co. Business is more active and obstructive behind the scenes and hence more effective than on public platforms.

The global trade scene has undergone unprecedented transformation. A decade ago, in 2000, China was not yet in the WTO and was still a somewhat peripheral actor in global trade. A decade later the erstwhile global trade applecart dominated by the “quad” – Canada, EU, Japan and US – has been completely upset. China has emerged as the world’s leading trading power, while other “emerging” countries – Brazil, Vietnam, India, Turkey, South Africa, Chile, etc, etc – are both far more present on global markets and demand greater say in global trade governance. Transformations invariably cause turbulence.

The fact that there is turbulence is all the more reason why leadership, good governance and a solid rules-based multilateral trade framework are absolute imperatives. This, however, is unlikely to happen without business involvement and leadership. Yet business leadership – something which as the 21st century advances is increasingly becoming an oxymoron – is sadly myopic and blinkered.

What is at stake is nothing less than the global open market system and capitalism itself. We are, as in the 1930s, at a crossroads. The conclusion of the Doha Round would provide the single most important boost to confidence in the system and also a great stimulus to the world economy. It would also demonstrate the commitment of global leaders to the development agenda. It is not, one must hasten to add, a panacea. But in the same breath one can also say that failing to conclude the Round soon will exacerbate the forces of protectionism and hasten the demise of capitalism.

Business support, indeed leadership, for the conclusion of the Doha Round is not a matter of idealistic global altruism; it is one of enlightened self-interest and it is an urgent imperative. So, for the prospects of global trade, do not look to the Elysee, but to the CEOs and boardrooms of those 3,500 or so multinational companies that account for the bulk of world trade.

It has been said that the main problem with communism is communism, while the main problem with capitalism is capitalists, that they are the agents of their own destruction. As capitalists face the system’s gravest challenge in eight decades, it remains to be seen whether this adage is true.

Author:Jean-Pierre Lehmann The writer is a professor of international political economy at IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Read more: Save capitalism from protectionists – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Save-capitalism-from-protectionists/articleshow/6955514.cms#ixzz15s2YIpNy

The Seneca community is grieving the loss of two students and one flight instructor after their plane crashed during a routine flight training exercise last night.

Out of respect for the families, no names are being released.

“Senecans are dealing with a tremendous loss. Our hearts are with the families and we are coming together to support the students, faculty and staff who have lost friends and colleagues,” says David Agnew, Seneca College President. “We want to thank our many colleagues in the college community and the aviation industry for the sympathy they have shown and their expressions of support at this very difficult time.”

“Together, with all Ontarians, I was deeply saddened to hear of the death of two Seneca College students and an instructor as the result of a tragic plane crash during a training flight,” said  Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, John Milloy.

Officials from the Transportation Safety Board are at the crash site investigating to determine the cause of the crash.

“On behalf of the aviation community at Toronto Buttonville Municipal Airport I would like to express our sincere condolences to Seneca College and to the friends and family of the deceased,” said Derek Sifton, President, Toronto Airways Limited.

The College can confirm the facts as they have been reported:

Two students in Seneca’s four-year flight degree program, along with their instructor, were taking part in a routine flight training exercise, when, around 7 p.m., on November 18, Pearson International Airport notified Durham Regional Police that they lost the plane on radar.

A police helicopter searched the area and located the downed Beechcraft F-33A Bonanza’s wreckage in a farmer’s field near Whitevale Road, south of Highway 407 in north Pickering.

A private memorial service will be held next week for the Seneca aviation community and the families of the deceased.

About Seneca College Flight program

The Seneca College flight program is a Transport Canada approved Integrated Airline Transport Pilot training program that prepares students to be Commercial Airline Pilots. Students receive training in the class and in the field. Intensive flight and simulator training is an integral part of this rigorous degree program. Eight semesters of flight training is a required component of the program. All protocols and procedures are dictated by standards set out by Transport Canada. We ensure we not only meet, but that we exceed those requirements.

Seneca has graduated approximately 1,100 students from its flight program

There are 227 students in the School of Aviation and Flight Technology

The Seneca fleet is made up of 15 aircraft: 5 Bonanzas, 2 Barons, 8 Cessnas

The average age of the fleet: Bonanzas- 18 years, Barons – 19 years, Cessnas – 10 years

Planes are serviced every 50 hours, as regulated by Transport Canada