Volkswagen resisted probe: Documents

‘Level of cooperation not consistent’: Ontario affidavit

Internal communications between Volkswagen and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change reveal increasing friction over two years of scrutinizing the German automaker’s use of “cheater devices” on vehicles to evade environmental regulations, the Post’s Adrian Humphreys reports.

From VW’s head office in Germany refusing to accept couriered letters from the ministry, to VW Canada’s employees appearing reluctant to speak, several complaints about a lack of assistance are contained in a sworn affidavit in support of a search warrant for VW Canada’s headquarters in Ajax, Ont.

“We do not view the level of co-operation we have received as consistent with this commitment to your customers or the assertions of your counsel,” a ministry investigator wrote in a July letter to VW’s president, Maria Stenstroem, according to the affidavit.

The document notes VW’s public statement to customers on its website that says VW Canada “will co-operate fully with the Ontario Government’s investigation.”

TORONTO • Ontario’s environment ministry investigators probing the international Volkswagen AG emissions scandal accuse officials with the German automobile company of not fully cooperating in their investigation.

Internal communication between Volkswagen and the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change reveal increasing friction over two years of scrutinizing VW’s use of “cheater devices” on vehicles to evade environmental regulations.

From VW’s head office in Germany refusing to accept couriered letters from the ministry to VW Canada’s employees appearing reluctant to speak, several complaints about a lack of assistance are contained in a sworn affidavit in support of a search warrant for VW Canada’s headquarters in Ajax, Ont.

“We do not view the level of cooperation we have received as consistent with this commitment to your customers or the assertions of your counsel,” a ministry investigator wrote in a July letter to VW’s president, Maria Stenstroem, according to the affidavit, called an Information to Obtain, or ITO, filed in court. The ITO notes VW’s public statement to customers on its website says VW Canada “will cooperate fully with the Ontario Government’s investigation.”

The Ontario probe stems from stunning revelations two years ago of software in some of VW’s diesel vehicles designed to hide the amount of contaminants released during emission tests.