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Mr. Stringham said about 200,000 barrels of oil were moving by rail in Canada every day at the end of 2014.

At that volume, oil levies would contribute roughly $16.8 million to Transport Canada’s emergency fund annually. The money collected from the levy will be put into a new $250-million fund that would provide compensation to accident victims.

Oil-by-rail shipments have skyrocketed in Canada and the United States in recent years as new oil production growth from North Dakota and the oilsands has outpaced the construction of new pipelines.

At the same time, fiery train derailments — such as the recent incident near Gogama, Ont. last Sunday — have also become more frequent.

The Railway Association of Canada said Friday that it supported Ms. Raitt’s move to “have more stakeholders share in the costs associated with rail accidents involving dangerous goods.”

However, RAC president and CEO Michael Bourque said in a press release that “the regime can be improved by including other dangerous goods — such as chlorine — in the compensation fund right away.”

Mr. Stringham said that oil and gas producers don’t know whether additional costs from the new insurance burden will cause oil-by-rail movements to become more expensive for producers.

“This new legislation will improve railway safety and strengthen oversight while protecting taxpayers and making industry more accountable to communities,” Ms. Raitt said in a press release.