The fund is agency-administered by the administrator of the fund, who reports to Parliament through the Minister of Transport and annually submits a report to Parliament. Broadly speaking, the administrator of the fund is responsible for handling claims that are filed with the fund, claims for all pollution. He is responsible under the law for considering these claims, investigating them, and deciding on payment. He also pays all handlers' claims.
We deal with pollution from a specific ship as well as mystery spills. This feature is not available internationally, but we have it in the domestic fund. As long as the claimant proves to the administrator that the pollution was caused by a ship—even though he might not know the identity of the ship—the domestic fund pays. That's the duty of the administrator, and he's responsible for authorizing payments.
In respect of the payments—and those are sometimes fairly large payments that he makes to the international fund—the process is somewhat different. Canada, as a member state of the international fund, participates in discussions on the international fund and helps to determine how much money the fund needs at any given time. Once Canada agrees to a requirement at the international level, the invoice is sent to the administrator and he has to pay it. It's the decision of the international fund, and under the law, it is clear that he has the authority and responsibility to pay. Up till now, he wasn't able to do it through accrued interest, without diminishing the outstanding balance in the fund.