Irving Oil to contribute $75M to Lac-Mégantic compensation fund

Irving Oil has agreed to contribute $75 million to a compensation fund established for those who suffered losses as the result of the July 2013 train derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Que.

The contribution would be in addition to a $200 million US settlement announced in January, with more than half of the money going to various levels of government.

That settlement involves the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Canada Co., its insurance carrier, railcar manufacturers and some oil companies.

The compensation package must still be approved by courts in the United States and Canada.

The derailment in the town of 6,000 set off several massive blasts, wiped out part of the downtown core and killed 47 people.