by Gauk
Tue, Dec 10, 2019 11:35 PM

Volkswagen have recently been charged with 60 counts of breaching the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

Environment and Climate Change Canada say Volkswagen have recently been charged with 60 counts of breaching the Canadian Environmental Protection Act by importing vehicles into the country that didn't conform to mandatory emission standards. 

A Canadian government agency said on Monday that the German automaker has been charged with importing into Canada almost 128,000 vehicles, breaching the country's environmental legislation. 

Included in the charges are two counts of providing misleading information. There is a court hearing scheduled for the 13th of December to be held at the Ontario Court of Justice.

The company have not responded to Reuters request for comment. The agency launched an investigation into the importing of certain vehicle models in 2015 that were equipped, allegedly, with an illegal "defeat device". Volkswagens defeat device was software that reduces how effective the emission control system is during normal use, according to the agency. The software would sense when the car was being tested and then ramp up the emission control system, giving the testers inaccurate and falsified results that were not reflective of the car's real life emissions during everyday use. 

The software was modified to adjust components such as catalytic converters or valves used to recycle some of the exhaust gasses. These components are there because they reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide, a pollutant that can cause emphysema, bronchitis and other respiratory diseases. Volkswagen admitted back in 2015 that 11 MILLION of its vehicles were equipped with the nefarious 'defeat device' software.

News in 2015 came out that Volkswagen had used, and were still using, these devices to cheat emissions tests around the world. It has, so far, cost the company roughly 30 billion euros ($33 billion) in fines, vehicle refits and legal costs. It also triggered a global backlash and has affected the publics perception of diesel vehicles, to the detriment of other manufacturers.

published by Gauk