Canada merges ship, rail oil spill compensation funds

The Canadian government yesterday announced it has merged two separate funds that respond to those affected by oil spills from ships or railroad accidents.

The Ship and Rail Compensation Canada is now the federal office responsible for responding to those impacted by ship oil and railroad accident crude oil pollution. The new office is the result of a merger of the Oil Pollution Fund and the Fund for Railway Accidents Involving Designated Goods. The new office was created to increase awareness of available compensation and strengthen access to justice for those impacted, Canadian government officials said in a press release yesterday.

Claims for ship oil pollution can be submitted via the new office’s website. At this time, no rail crude oil pollution has been recorded, therefore claims cannot be submitted, government officials said.

Millions of liters of oil are used or transported across Canada by ship and rail, making it crucial that Canadians are financially protected from spills and accidents, said Mark Gauthier, administrator of Ship and Rail Compensation. Gauthier oversees the entire office, and two deputy administrators oversee the railroad and ship funds separately.