NEWS RELEASE
Ottawa, Ontario – The Chamber of Marine Commerce today congratulates one of its members, Georgian College, on securing federal and provincial government funding of $3.92 million for a new Marine Emergency Duties (MED) Training and Research Centre in Owen Sound.
Mandatory for everyone working aboard a ship, the facility will provide training in firefighting, survival craft, life raft and immersion suit training, as well as first aid. Without this facility, the closest English-language institution offering MED training is currently in Prince Edward Island.
“This is great news for Georgian College and for marine shipping, particularly in the Great Lakes region,” says Stephen Brooks, President of the Chamber of Marine Commerce.
“MED training is critical to the education of Great Lakes mariners, many of which live in Ontario. With this new facility, students and crew will now be able to access marine training in their own province. We need to make it as easy as possible for young people to join the marine industry, and for existing crew to refresh important safety skills, to ensure we have a future workforce. This funding goes a long way to achieving those goals and bodes well for the future of Great Lakes shipping.”
Last year the Chamber of Marine Commerce worked with MP Larry Miller and Georgian College to organize a tour of Georgian’s Great Lakes Marine Training Centre for industry executives, federal and provincial legislators to showcase Georgian’s impressive training program in Owen Sound and to highlight the importance of building the new MED centre. (See Flickr link below for photo of this event.)
Flickr
Download photo of the Chamber of Marine Commerce’s event with Georgian College in 2014.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/marinecommerce/13893561874/in/album-72157644047690673/
(Description of linked photo: On board Georgian College’s giant ship simulator with (L-R) Stephen Brooks (President, Chamber of Marine Commerce), Larry Miller (MP, Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound), Hon. Jason Kenney (MP, Minister of Employment and Skills Development), Rick Dykstra (MP, St. Catharines).)
About the Chamber of Marine Commerce
The Chamber of Marine Commerce is a bi-national association that represents more than 150 marine industry stakeholders including major Canadian and American shippers, ports, terminals and marine service providers, as well as domestic and international ship owners. The Chamber represents the interests of its members by addressing government issues affecting marine transportation. Advocacy extends to federal, state/provincial and municipal levels of government.
Media Contact
Julia Fields
Chamber of Marine Commerce
613-294-8515
The Chamber of Marine Commerce (CMC) is a bi-national association that represents diverse marine industry stakeholders including major Canadian and American shippers, ports, terminals and marine service providers, as well as Canadian domestic and international ship owners. The Chamber advocates for safe, sustainable, harmonized and competitive policy and regulation that recognizes the marine transportation system's significant advantages in the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence, Coastal and Arctic regions.
Media Contact:
Jason Card
Chamber of Marine Commerce
jcard@cmc-ccm.com
(613) 447 5401