Following the Lac Megantic derailment in 2013, the Canadian government established the Fund for Railway Accidents Involving Designated Goods (FRAIDG). At this time, the only “designated goods” are crude oil. The purpose of the fund is to ensure claims for damages resulting from rail accidents involving crude oil can be covered, where such claims are beyond the liability insurance coverage of the railways involved in any such accident.
The fund has collected over $44 million since it was established and is financed through levies collected from the shippers of crude oil. For the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2019, the levy was $1.76 per tonne.
The fund has announced that it has hired Marc Andre Sirois from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation as its permanent director. More on the Fund at can be found on their website at http://fraidg.gc.ca/en/home/ .
The Fund’s Key Fact Sheet can be found at the link below.
