The authority in charge of public safety in the oil and gas sector does not inspect oil and natural gas pipelines itself, instead auditing companies' own inspection reports once every five years, Ontario’s auditor general said Wednesday morning. The absence of strong regulatory practices increases the province's risk of environmental contamination.

Nearly half of all North Atlantic right whales in the world were spotted in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence this year during surveillance that officials say will inform future protection measures.

Canada will be ready to set tougher emissions-cutting plans when the Paris climate-change agreement kicks in by the end of 2020, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna says.

Leaders from several north-coast B.C. First Nations say if the Senate doesn't approve a bill barring super-sized oil tankers from the region, their thriving but fragile marine-based economies will die.