Toronto, Ontario — Volkswagen has been charged with 60 counts of breaching Canada’s Environmental Protection Act for issues related to the automaker’s 2015 emissions scandal, according to a report by Reuters.
The report says the German automaker was charged with 60 counts of breaching Canada’s Environmental Protection Act on Monday after importing nearly 128,000 vehicles that did not conform to the nation’s prescribed emissions standards.
The charges include two counts of providing misleading information. The court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 13 in the Ontario Court of Justice, where parties will submit for the Court’s consideration a proposed plea resolution and seek its approval.
In 2015, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) launched an investigation into the importation of certain vehicle models allegedly equipped with a prohibited ‘defeat device’ software that reduced the effectiveness of emissions control systems during normal vehicle use.
So far, emissions-related legal issues have cost the company about $33 billion in fines, vehicle refits and assorted legal costs.
More than 20 countries and governments have taken action against Volkswagen and, in 2016, the United States charged the automaker US$4.3 billion in penalties in the largest fee levied by the U.S. government against a car company.
