"The time is over for politely asking big companies that are polluting to do the right thing," Ambrose told broadcaster CTV in an exclusive interview, saying the legislation would include penalties for infractions.

"We know from looking at what the past government has done over the last 13 years that informational programs and asking them to do the right thing is not sufficient," she said.

"This government is introducing for the first time in Canadian history national legislation to deal with ... poor air quality and greenhouse gases," she said.

But, Ambrose also warned that "it is very important that we don't raise the rhetoric to a point where we put industry at risk without putting the right tools in place first."

Her comments came one day after Johanne Gelinas, commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development Office of the Auditor General, said in a report that Canada must realize "a massive scale-up of efforts" to fight global warming.

"The government urgently needs a believable, clear and realistic plan to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Gelinas said.

Canada had agreed under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to six percent below 1990 levels by 2012.

But in 2004, the emissions were 26.6 percent above 1990 levels, despite 6.3 billion Canadian dollars (5.7 billion US) spent by the previous Liberal government on climate change measures since 1997, Gelinas found.

Smog alerts have also increased dramatically in major Canadian cities in recent decades.

Gelinas blamed a lack of coordination between government departments, ineffective leadership and too little monitoring of spending and results.

Ambrose said new national regulations would include "enhanced enforcement, auditing, accountability," as well as "targeted measures" for the oil and gas sector and transportation sector which are "key to achieving results."

Gelinas stated in her report that extraordinary growth in the oil and gas sector, Canada's worst polluter, would foil attempts to reduce greenhouse gases in the future, if left unchecked.

"Emissions from the increased exploitation of oil sands could double by 2015, canceling out any other efforts to reduce greenhouse gases." she told reporters.

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