The Chamber of Marine Commerce 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.”
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.