Last Wednesday at Toronto's Distillery District, Mathew Rosenblatt, principal with CityScape and Jason Lester, COO of Dundee Realty, announced substantial incentives to friends and members of the Hispanic community who purchase a condominium in either the Clear Spirits or Gooderham tower. These are the last two of the three towers to be built in this historic development. Up to $13,000 is being offered in discounts until November 25, 2009 and available only through Mauricio Ospina from Hispanic Business.ca. Ospina himself has purchased a unit in the Gooderham Tower.

Rosenblatt and Lester, co-owners of the Distillery District, offered a glimpse of the future of the area to one hundred executives, consuls from Argentina, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Venezuela, and twelve of the twenty winners from the first and second year who attended the launch of the third annual Scotiabank "10 most influential Hispanic Canadians" awards program. "These are the last two of the three towers built in this exciting development. We have sold 90% of Clear Spirits and about 60% of Gooderham. The Distillery is in the middle of the area slated to receive huge investments from the government and private sector, so this is the time to buy" it was noted by the Distillery representatives. "With all the money pouring into this area and the 15,000 new residential units that will be built around the Distillery, this is the hottest area to live in and invest. This could easily spark the beginnings of a Latin Town in downtown Toronto. That's a vision I hope to see become a reality," said Ospina.

Ospina also invited attendees to continue submitting nominations for the awards program. Nominations for this year's program will be open from September 1 to September 30, 2009. The winners will be announced during an awards ceremony on Tuesday, November 17 at the exclusive National Club in Toronto. The program is supported by the Hispanic Business Association, the Canadian Council for the Americas and Canadian Business magazine. Two sponsorship opportunities are still available; anyone seeking to promote their company is encouraged to request details soon.

Dubbed by the organizers as "100% networking", this year's awards ceremony will be different from the past two years. The ten winners will be selected by the judges prior to the November 17 awards ceremony. The panel of judges includes winners from the past two editions, as well as journalists and executives from the Globe & Mail, Toronto Star, Canadian Business, CBC, FOCAL, Canadian Hispanic Congress, Hispanic Press Association of Canada. Two $10,000 scholarships, courtesy of the Canadian Law Enforcement College, will be presented to students interested in pursuing a law enforcement career. The directory of members of the Hispanic Business Association containing community and member profiles may also be distributed at the event. Twelve thousand (12,000) directories are expected to be printed and distributed in the GTA and Ottawa, and will be available online. There is still time to become one of the founding members to enjoy year-round benefits.

Hispanic media sponsors include Correo Canadiense, El Popular, La Guia de Toronto, Mercado News, Abanico, Latin Life, Abanico, Latidos, TorontoHispano.com y Una-C Canada. More than 900,000 Spanish-speaking people live in Canada (Print Measurement Bureau). Hispanics are ten years younger and are more likely to be university educated than other Canadians, most live in the GTA and more than 70 per cent have arrived in the last twenty five years. (Statistics Canada, 2008)

Nominations must be no more than 250 words and include the name, telephone number and email address of both the nominee and the person making the nomination. Selection criteria include: Influence in the Canadian mainstream, Education, Achievements & Awards, Support of the Hispanic community, and Volunteerism. Supporting documentation may be required. Nominations must be sent to director@HispanicBusiness.ca by September 30, 2009. Nominees will be asked to accept their nominations. Past nominees can be nominated again.

To qualify for the $3,000 discount at the Distillery, membership in the Hispanic Business Association or for information on the two $10,000 scholarships, contact Mauricio Ospina, Director of Hispanic Business.ca.