Mandate:
The Fund for Railway Accidents Involving Designated Goods (Rail Fund) is managed by an arm’s-length Administrator who is appointed by Order in Council and who reports to Parliament through the Minister of Transport. The mandate of the Rail Fund is to assess and pay out compensation to Canadians in the event of a rail accident involving crude oil where the damages exceed a railway’s required insurance level.
Amendments to the Canada Transportation Act that came into force in June 2016 established minimum mandatory levels of insurance for federally regulated railways hauling dangerous goods and established the Rail Fund to cover damages that are over and above railways’ mandatory insurance levels associated with an accident involving designated goods. Currently, crude oil is the only good designated under the Rail Fund.
The Rail Fund is financed through a levy, which crude-oil shippers pay. Railways collect the levy and remit it to the Receiver General.
Administrator: Anne Legars