No. H 132/07
For release July 3, 2007
OTTAWA — The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, today announced the appointment of Captain Michael Pratt to the board of directors of the Great Lakes Pilotage Authority, for a term of three years.
"I am very pleased to announce that Captain Pratt has agreed to serve on the board of the Great Lakes Pilotage Authority," said Minister Cannon. "His experience as an officer and a pilot for many years as well as his extensive knowledge of the Great Lakes region will be an asset to the Authority."
Captain Michael Pratt is currently a pilot in District 2: Welland Canal, Lake Erie and Ports, Detroit and St. Clair River, of the Great Lakes Pilotage Authority region. He began his career as an officer on a variety of vessels, including government hydrographic and research vessels, bulk carriers, tankers and ferries. Captain Pratt was also a navigation instructor at Niagara marine schools; a pilot in District 3, Sarnia to Thunder Bay and Chicago, of the Great Lakes Pilotage Authority region; and a pilot in Port Churchill.
He is currently vice-president of the Great Lakes Region Canadian Marine Pilots' Association; the former president and director of the Corporation of Professional Great Lakes Pilots; and former president and current vice-president and director of the International Shipmasters' Association.
Captain Pratt obtained a Second Mate Foreign Going Licence after completing a four-year Marine Navigation Technology Program at George Brown College in Toronto, and also now holds a Master Foreign Going Licence, a pilot licence for the Great Lakes Pilotage Authority region, Districts 2 and 3 and a pilot licence for Port Churchill.
The mission of the Great Lakes Pilotage Authority is to establish, operate, maintain and administer in the interest of safety, an efficient pilotage service for commercial vessels within the Great Lakes region.
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Contact:
Natalie Sarafian
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Transport,
Infrastructure and Communities,
Ottawa
613-991-0700
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