Toronto, July 2 -- Canada has announced this year's appointments to the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian honour, and among the 83 distinguished recipients is Professor Mahesh Chandra Sharma, an Indo-Canadian academic who suffered immense personal loss in the Air India Flight 182, the Kanishka, bombing in 1985. Among the 329 victims of what remains the worst incident of terrorism in Canadian history were the wife, two children and mother-in-law of Prof Mahesh Chandra Sharma. On Monday, as governor general Mary Simon announced the list of 83 honorees for this year, he was made a member of the Order of Canada. The citation with the honor noted: "Mahesh Sharma is a civic-minded philanthropist and leader. A beloved professor and mentor at Concordia University, he established scholarships to honour the memory of his family who were victims of Air India Flight 182. He also actively champions social causes supporting vulnerable individuals and the wider community." Sharma, who is a professor of supply chain and business technology management at Concordia University in Montreal, studied mechanical engineering in India before moving to Canada. Also on the list was another Indo-Canadian academic, Dr Saroj Saigal, professor emeritus at McMaster University in Hamilton, who was admitted as an Officer of the Order of Canada. She "helped shape the field of neonatology", the citation stated. "She is internationally renowned as the first researcher to examine the lives of extremely premature infants from a qualitative perspective and is praised for this humanistic approach. She has shifted attitudes towards preterm infants and increased our understanding of their long-term outcomes," it added. Dr Saigal obtained her medical degrees and received paediatric training in India before moving to Canada. Other prominent honorees on the list were two healthcare leaders who were at the forefront of Canada's battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr Theresa Tam led the country's effort to counter the pandemic as Canada's Chief Public Health Officer. She retired from the position in June. She was made an Officer of the Order of Canada as was Dr Bonnie Henry, who was the provincial health officer in British Columbia during the pandemic....