– Province Probing Possible Violations under the Environmental Protection Act
News from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change
Queen’s Park, Ontario, October 7th, 2015 – The action by Volkswagen Canada and Audi Canada to sell cars to its dealers and consumers with software to bypass the vehicle’s emissions control is under investigation by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change for possible violations under the Environmental Protection Act.
Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act prohibits the sale of vehicles that do not meet emissions standards.
The province is also requiring the company to provide a plan detailing the actions they will take to fix impacted vehicles in Ontario.
When Volkswagen Canada and Audi Canada have identified an Ontario-specific solution to the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, they will be expected to take action to ensure impacted vehicles are in compliance while minimizing any inconvenience and costs to owners.
Quick Facts
- There are approximately 11 million cars in Ontario – about 35,000 are impacted Volkswagen and Audi vehicles.
- Impacted cars include certain Volkswagen and Audi models from 2009-2015.
- The defeat software turned off specific emissions control systems resulting in nitrogen oxide emissions exceeding standards by up to 40 times.
Additional Resources
- Owners of impacted vehicles are encouraged to contact their dealer or Volkswagen Canada or Audi Canada for more information.
- For more information on the Drive Clean program visit Ontario.ca/DriveClean, or call: 1-888-758-2999.
Quotes
“The actions taken by Volkswagen Canada and Audi Canada are unacceptable. We want to make sure the right steps are taken to remedy this situation in a way that is easy for Ontarians, and ensures the province’s emissions standards are met.” – Glen R. Murray – Ontario Minister of the Environment and Climate Change
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(NOW IT IS YOUR TURN. Niagara At Large encourages you to share your views on this post. A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who share their first and last name with them.)
Niagara At Large 
If Canada’s response to the faulty switches in GM cars, that killed so many in North America over a 10 year period, is any indication, no executive from Volkswagen will spend even one day in jail. What Volkswagen has done, if proven to be true, is out and out fraud: plain and simple.
If the average Canadian were to defraud say, a very rich bank, out of a few hundred dollars chances are high that Canadian would do time in prison. However, let a rich, powerful, auto executive defraud a million or so customers, or an executive of GM allow a faulty device in his/her company’s product to kill a few Canadians, so be it.
Why should we be surprised, governments and power are easily purchased. Unfortunately, so is the integrity of those who seek power and wealth at any cost to others. Consider O.J. Simpson; if you are rich enough, and powerful enough, or popular enough you can even get away with murder in North America. Or, if you are a Conrad Black, you may even get into Canada though a convicted felon who, when it suited him, didn’t want to be a Canadian at all. Clearly, if you have enough money and the right influential friends you seem to be above the law and the rules that apply to the rest of us don’t apply to you.
When will Canadians say “Enough is enough!” and begin afresh with a new government? We seem determined, one way or the other, to keep the status quo, changing the same old sweaters from one to another instead of putting on an entirely new one to see if it fits and wears any better.
Wake up people! We only get the government we deserve!
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