CP 2020 ANNUAL REPORT 120 24. Variable interest entities C. Employee share purchase plan 25. Commitments and contingencies (1) Québec's Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment, Wildlife and Parks ordered various parties, including CP, to remediate the derailment site (the "Cleanup Order") and served CP with a Notice of Claim for $95 million for those costs. CP appealed the Cleanup Order and contested the Notice Legal proceedings related to Lac-Mégantic rail accident Commitments The Company has an employee share purchase plan whereby both employee and the Company contributions are used to purchase shares on the open market for employees. The Company’s contributions are expensed over the one year vesting period. Under the plan, the Company matches $1 for every $3 contributed by employees up to a maximum employee contribution of 6% of annual salary. The total number of shares purchased in 2020 on behalf of participants, including the Company's contributions, was 115,344 (2019 – 137,942; 2018 – 118,865). In 2020, the Company’s contributions totalled $9 million (2019 – $8 million; 2018 – $6 million) and the related expense was $7 million (2019 – $6 million; 2018 – $5 million). The Company leases equipment from certain trusts, which have been determined to be variable interest entities financed by a combination of debt and equity provided by unrelated third parties. The lease agreements, which are classified as operating leases, have fixed price purchase options which create the Company’s variable interests and result in the trusts being considered variable interest entities. Maintaining and operating the leased assets according to specific contractual obligations outlined in the terms of the lease agreements and industry standards is the Company’s responsibility. The rigour of the contractual terms of the lease agreements and industry standards are such that the Company has limited discretion over the maintenance activities associated with these assets. As such, the Company concluded these terms do not provide the Company with the power to direct the activities of the variable interest entities in a way that has a significant impact on the entities’ economic performance. The financial exposure to the Company as a result of its involvement with the variable interest entities is equal to the fixed lease payments due to the trusts. In 2020, lease payments after tax were $14 million. Future minimum lease payments, before tax, of $126 million will be payable over the next 10 years. The Company does not guarantee the residual value of the assets to the lessor; however, it must deliver to the lessor the assets in good operating condition, subject to normal wear and tear, at the end of the lease term. As the Company’s actions and decisions do not significantly affect the variable interest entities’ performance, and the Company’s fixed price purchase option is not considered to be potentially significant to the variable interest entities, the Company is not considered to be the primary beneficiary, and does not consolidate these variable interest entities. In the normal course of its operations, the Company becomes involved in various legal actions, including claims relating to injuries and damage to property. The Company maintains provisions it considers to be adequate for such actions. While the final outcome with respect to actions outstanding or pending at December 31, 2020 cannot be predicted with certainty, it is the opinion of management that their resolution will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial position, or results of operations. However, an unexpected adverse resolution of one or more of these legal actions could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial position, results of operations, or liquidity in a particular quarter or fiscal year. At December 31, 2020, the Company had committed to total future capital expenditures amounting to $547 million and operating expenditures relating to supplier purchase obligations, such as bulk fuel purchase agreements, locomotive maintenance and overhaul agreements, as well as agreements to purchase other goods and services amounting to approximately $1.7 billion for the years 2021–2032, of which CP estimates approximately $1.6 billion will be incurred in the next five years. Commitments related to leases, including minimum annual payments for the next five years and thereafter, are included in Note 19. On July 6, 2013, a train carrying petroleum crude oil operated by Montréal Maine and Atlantic Railway (“MMAR”) or a subsidiary, Montréal Maine & Atlantic Canada Co. (“MMAC” and collectively the “MMA Group”), derailed in Lac-Mégantic, Québec. The derailment occurred on a section of railway owned and operated by the MMA Group and while the MMA Group exclusively controlled the train. Following the derailment, MMAC sought court protection in Canada under the  Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act  and MMAR filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. Plans of arrangement were approved in both Canada and the U.S. (the “Plans”), providing for the distribution of approximately $440 million amongst those claiming derailment damages. A number of legal proceedings, set out below, were commenced in Canada and the U.S. against CP and others: