The report by the standing senate committee on national security and defence criticises the Canadian government for procrastination in implementing and maintaining disaster readiness programs across the country, leaving Canadians vulnerable to natural and man-made disasters.

"We raised a number of issues four years ago and the government has been brain-dead ever since," Liberal senator and committee chairman Colin Kenny said. "They have not moved forward on any of the main issues and their attitude is wrong."

The report cites the 1985 AI 182 Kanishka bombing which killed all 329 people on board as the country's 'first national wake-up call' and urges the current government to become more prepared in light of terrorist threats and natural disasters.

The report, humourously titled Emergency Preparedness in Canada: How the Fine Arts of Bafflegab and Procrastination Hobble the People Who Will Be Trying to Save You When Things Get Really Bad, follows up a similar report tabled in 2004 following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

"Seven years have elapsed since September 11, 2001. Yet, despite all the bureaucratic promises from three successive (federal) governments, progress is still just around the corner," the report said. "And Canada's emergency preparedness capacity is clearly still thin and fragmented."

The committee noted that many of the 12 recommendations made in Tuesday's report were identified as "long-standing weaknesses" in the previous senate report, Canada's Fragile Front Lines.