"Canada's government is not ready to handle a major oil spill from a tanker, in part because its emergency response plan is out of date, Parliament's environmental watchdog said in a damning report on Tuesday.

Scott Vaughan, commissioner of the environment and sustainable development, also said Ottawa did not have enough data to monitor what impact development of the oil sands in Western Canada was having on water supplies.

Concerns about the damage an oil spill could do in Canadian waters increased after the BP drilling accident in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year.

Vaughan said Canada, bordered by three oceans and home to the world's longest coastline, was particularly vulnerable to the consequences of a spill."

David Ljunggren reports for Reuters December 8, 2010. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Transocean Oil Rig Suffered Start of Blow-Out in North Sea" (Guardian) [3]