Christopher Beatty, the son of former Wellington- Dufferin-Simcoe MP Perrin Beatty, died after a weekend motorcycle accident on Feb. 1 in Thailand at age 23.

Christopher had been spending a year as a residence don at the American Pacific International School in Chiang Mai, about 700 km north of Bangkok.

In a statement to the media, his parents wrote, "Christopher's short life was characterized by his need to love and to be loved, his independence of thought, his intense loyalty to those who mattered most to him, and his determination to fight for what he believed was right."

His father, Perrin Beatty, is a native of Fergus who for many years was Progressive Conservative MP for Dufferin-Simcoe and held cabinet posts in the governments of Prime Ministers' Brian Mulroney and Joe Clark.

He later served as president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and president of the Canadian Broadcasting Company and is currently president and chief executive officer of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, based in Ottawa.

Christopher spent most of his childhood in Fergus before moving with his family to Ottawa in 1995.

He finished an undergraduate degree in Political Science at the University of Western Ontario.

His parents said the motorcycle accident occurred after their son had spent an evening sharing drinks and debating philosophy with friends from his school in Thailand.

As of press time the exact circumstances of his death are still not known.

The funeral service will be held today (Thursday) in Ottawa.

His older brother, Patrick, said in a statement from Thailand that he will be missed.

Christopher Beatty had moved to Chiang Mai at the end of July. He planned to return to Canada this summer and enroll in graduate school.

Mr. Beatty is the second Canadian known to have died in Thailand in 2008.

In an unrelated incident 25-year-old British Columbia native Leo Del Pinto was shot by a police officer on Jan. 6 in northern Thailand.