Pitman, what’s paraffin oil?

I know that in England the word “paraffin” means what Americans call “kerosene”. I suppose the same is true in Canada. Is “paraffin oil” the same as paraffin/kerosene?

Kerosene is sort of oily. When I was an apprentice I had to spread Malarkey to seal the joints between sections of flat roof as they were bolted together. My boss told me to use kerosene to get the black gunk off my hands at day’s end because, “Gasoline will dry your skin out. But kerosene lubricates it.”