TIMMONS, Ontario — Canadian National Railway must pay C$8 million in fines as a result of oil spills stemming from a pair of 2015 derailments in Northern Ontario, a Canadian court has ruled.
The CBC reports that the Ontario Court of Justice ordered the fines for environmental violations stemming from a Feb. 14, 2015, derailment near Gladwick, Ont., and another on March 7 in Gogama, Ont. The first incident spilled about 1.06 million liters (more than 280,000 gallons) of crude oil, some of which entered a creek that flows into Upper Kasasway Lake. The second spilled about 2.6 million liters (more than 686,000 gallons), some of which entered wetlands and the Makami River, which flows into Minisinakwa Lake. Both derailments resulted from track failures blamed on CN’s failure to exercise due diligence in maintaining its infrastructure.
The money from the fines will go into a fund for environmental restoration projects.
Both the incidents occurred on CN’s Ruel Subdivision. Gogama is about 87 miles north (timetable west) of Capreol, Ont., and 101 miles from Sudbury; Gladwick is another 29 miles northwest of Gogama.
