Ottawa unprepared for major oil spill: audit (CBC News)

Federal government not ready to respond to effects of climate change, commissioner says

Last Updated: Tuesday, December 7, 2010 | 2:36 PM ET Comments223Recommend79

CBC News

The federal government isn't ready to handle a major oil spill in Canada's waters, even though the coast guard hears of a spill a day on average, the country's environmental auditor says.

Environment and Sustainable Development Commissioner Scott Vaughan speaks following the release of his fall report at the National Press Theatre on Tuesday in Ottawa. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

The audit presented Tuesday by Environment and Sustainable Development Commissioner Scott Vaughan also concludes the government does not have a plan or the right information to deal with the effects of climate change.

Most of the reported oil spills in Canadian waters are small, Vaughan said.

"However, given the findings of this audit, I am troubled that the government is not ready to respond to a major spill," he said.

Meanwhile, climate change is already affecting Canada in the form of more severe weather events in the Atlantic region and prolonged drought in the Prairies, along with greater losses of Canada's boreal forests from pests and forest fires, as well as the thawing of permafrost in Canada's North.

He noted the government committed most recently in 2007 to creating a climate change strategy, but has yet to implement it.

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