David's Experience
David Pratt has a long and distinguished record of service to his community and to his country. He served as an elected representative at the municipal, regional and federal levels of government for 16 years. He was the Member of Parliament for Nepean-Carleton from 1997 to June 2004.
From December 2003 to July 2004, David served as Canada’s Minister of National Defence and was a member of three cabinet committees including Global Affairs, Canada-U.S. Relations and Security, Public Health and Emergencies. Prior to his appointment to Cabinet, he was elected by his colleagues as Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs – a position he held from 2001 to 2003. He also served as a member of the House of Commons Sub-Committee on National Security.
During his first term in Parliament, David served on two standing committees: Environment and Sustainable Development and National Defence and Veterans Affairs. He conducted local studies on health care and the state of Ottawa’s high technology industry and wrote reports on the need for a foreign intelligence agency for Canada as well as a joint Canada-U.S. brigade to enhance military inter-operability. He also served as Canada’s Special Envoy to Sierra Leone under two ministers of Foreign Affairs and was involved extensively in legislation to address the “conflict diamonds” issue. As a City Councillor, David was involved in an international development project in Sierra Leone where he worked with local officials in the early 1990s as part of a Municipal Exchange between the city of Nepean, Ontario and the town of Bo, Sierra Leone. The project entitled “Africa 2000, the Municipal Response” was under the stewardship of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
Prior to his election to Parliament, David served three terms in municipal politics. He was first elected to Nepean City Council in 1988 and was re-elected in 1991 to sit on both Nepean City Council and Ottawa Carleton Regional Council. He served a term as Deputy Mayor and chaired the Public Works Committee and the Parks and Recreation Committee. 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.
From 2004 until 2008, David served as a Special Advisor and Ambassador for the Canadian Red Cross. He worked in the area of conflict prevention, small arms and light weapons and international humanitarian law. In 2006, he helped initiate the Canadian Red Cross’s Auxiliary to Government project. The project sought to improve the cooperation between the Canadian Red Cross and governments at all levels in Canada especially in the area of emergency management. It emphasized the special and distinct role that Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have under domestic and international law and the Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The project also sought to obtain new legislation to replace the outdated The Canadian Red Cross Society Act, 1909. As the project leader, David authored a discussion paper entitled: "Toward a Renewed Canadian Red Cross – Forging Stronger Partnerships In Support of a Humanitarian Agenda", and the project’s interim report entitled: "Revitalizing the Framework of Cooperation with Public Authorities." His work on the Auxiliary Role was presented at the 2007 International Red Cross and Red Crescent Conference in Geneva.
David is also a member of the Advisory Council of the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute and is a Board Member for the Conference of Defence Associations. He has written and lectured extensively. In June, 2005 he authored a Working Paper for the Parliamentary Centre entitled: Retooling for New Challenges: Parliaments as Peace-builders. In June, 2007 he delivered the annual Ellis Lectures at the University of Calgary on the topic: “Is there a Grand Strategy in Canadian Foreign Policy.” In April 2008, the Journal for Transatlantic Studies, based in the UK, published an article based upon his Ellis Lectures entitled: "Grand Strategy and Lessons Learned."
Since the 2008 election, David has worked as a consultant. His most recent assignment included a two month deployment to Iraq as a senior parliamentary expert working in Baghdad on the USAID sponsored Iraq Legislative Strengthening Program.