David Pratt (politician)
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The Honourable David Pratt PC, BA (Honours), KStG |
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| 36th Minister of National Defense | |
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In office December 12, 2003 – July 19, 2004 |
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| Prime Minister | Paul Martin |
| Preceded by | John McCallum |
| Succeeded by | Bill Graham |
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Nepean—Carleton |
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In office June 2, 1997 – June 28, 2004 |
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| Succeeded by | Pierre Poilievre |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
January 3, 1955 Ottawa, Ontario |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Profession | Consultant |
David Pratt, PC (born January 3, 1955) is a Canadian former politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Nepean—Carleton from 1997 until 2004.
Before Pratt was elected federally, he served in public office municipally. In 1988, he won a seat on Nepean City Council. His re-election in 1991 also gave him a seat on the Ottawa Carleton Regional Council. In the municipal election of 1994, his candidacy was uncontested and he was acclaimed. On Nepean Council, Pratt served a term as Deputy Mayor and chaired the committees of Public Works and Parks and Recreation. On Regional Council, he worked on transportation and environment issues and was a member of the Ottawa-Carleton Police Services Board and the OC Transpo Commission. He served for five years on the Board of Directors of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities where he was involved in community safety and crime prevention issues, district energy and international development programs in Africa.
As Minister of National Defence, Pratt received cabinet support for several major procurement projects totaling $7 billion including the Maritime Helicopter Program to replace the aging Sea King fleet, the Mobile Gun System and a new fixed wing search and rescue aircraft. He also obtained federal cabinet approval for the Joint Support Ship program to provide new supply ships for the Canadian Navy. As the local Ottawa cabinet minister, he worked with provincial and municipal officials to assemble $600 million in funding for a proposed light rail transit system – a project that was subsequently cancelled by the City of Ottawa.
As Chair of the Commons Defence Committee, he was a strong advocate for increased military spending both before and after the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001. Under his leadership, the defence committee released a report entitled: "Facing Our Responsibilities: The state of readiness of the Canadian Forces" which called for substantial new investments in Canada’s military capabilities. As committee chair, Pratt also argued strongly for a more bi-partisan approach to defence issues and for regular reviews of Canadian foreign and defence policy. He successfully sponsored a resolution in Parliament to declare the first Sunday in June “Canadian Forces Day” and contributed to policy debates on defence and security matters with two papers: “Fostering Human Security: A Joint Canada-US Brigade,” (October 2000) and “Does Canada Need A Foreign Intelligence Agency?” (March 2003).
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