Canadians who bought Volkswagens in U.S. left out of emissions settlement

A year and a half after it was first revealed Volkswagen had fitted many of its vehicles with software to fool emissions tests, one Nova Scotia owner is still not sure if his car will be fixed and what compensation he might receive.

In December, the car manufacturer reached a proposed class-action lawsuit settlement that would compensate 105,000 Canadian owners and includes an offer to buy back vehicles, make repairs or allow trade-ins for new models.

But Ketch Harbour, N.S., resident Alex McLellan is not among those owners, even though his 2010 Jetta diesel wagon is one of the vehicles caught up in the scandal.

The sticking point faced by McLellan, and others in his particular situation, is that he purchased his car in the United States. "There weren't many used Volkswagen diesels available in Nova Scotia," McLellan told CBC News.

Frustrating wait for answers

The settlement involves 2.0-litre TDI-equipped vehicles from certain make and model years.

McLellan said he initially thought he would be covered by the $14.7-billion settlement Volkswagen made in the U.S. as his Jetta had been initially registered there and sold to him by a dealer in Vermont.

Instead, McLellan was told he didn't qualify as the vehicle was now registered in Canada. He then assumed he would be included in the Canadian deal, but subsequently found out he was not.

"I didn't have to change the vehicle in any way when I brought it across the border," McLellan said. "It was on a list of pre-approved vehicles which are accepted from the United States into Canada."

McLellan approached CBC News out of frustration after waiting weeks for several law firms involved in the Canadian class-action to return his messages once he learned he, and others like him, were not included in the settlement.

McLellan was contacted by one of the law firms almost immediately after CBC News emailed one of the lead lawyers.

Claims remain part of class action, lawyer says

Luciana Brasil, with the Vancouver firm Branch MacMaster, is another lawyer who is part of a team across the country working on behalf of owners as part of the Canadian class action.

She said while people who bought their vehicles in the U.S. are not part of the proposed Canadian settlement, they are part of the class action and her firm wants to hear from them.

She said law firms are keeping track of those who bought their vehicles stateside so that after the current settlement approval process is completed, lawyers can turn their attention to that group and "see what we can do for them."

"Their claims remain part of our proposed class action to be prosecuted or settled on their behalf," she said.

She doesn't know why the group was excluded, but said it's the same situation in the U.S. — Americans who bought cars in Canada and took them back across the border were not part of the U.S. settlement.

No remedy yet

It's unclear how many Canadians own affected Volkswagens purchased in the U.S. Nova Scotia's registry of motor vehicles says 47 have been imported since 2009, but it was unable to say how many were the 2.0-litre vehicles included in the settlement. The federal government refused to divulge countrywide statistics, citing privacy considerations.

Keith Hamilton of Midland, Ont., also owns an affected vehicle that is excluded. He bought his 2012 Jetta wagon TDI 2.0 litre in Canada, but it was imported from the U.S. He is uncertain about the future and unhappy with being excluded.

"It doesn't make sense and it's definitely not consumer-friendly," he said.

Hamilton drives 60,000 kilometres a year for work and worries about the value of the vehicle when, and if, a settlement involving imported vehicles is reached.

For his part, McLellan wonders whether his car will even be fixed: "I can't see how VW or the environmental agencies can allow this vehicle to continue to be operated without some kind of remedy as it applies to the other vehicles."

A spokesman for Environment and Climate Change Canada told CBC News in an email that Canadians with imported vehicles, like McLellan, should verify with Volkswagen if they will be included in the company's efforts to fix the emissions problem.

The department started an investigation into the issue in September 2015. Spokesman Pierre Manoni said that probe is still underway in relation to suspected violations of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

Compensation

Volkswagen Canada, which is saying little about the excluded group, declined to respond to questions about whether it plans to further compensate owners like McLellan. It also would not say whether it plans to address the emissions issue on Canadian-owned vehicles bought in the U.S.

If approved by the courts in March, the proposed Canadian settlement will give those owners who qualify the option of selling their vehicles back to Volkswagen, trading them for new vehicles or getting them repaired. Owners will also get between $5,100 and $8,000 in compensation, depending on the make and model of their vehicle.

McLellan did receive a goodwill package from Volkswagen Canada that included a $500 prepaid credit card, a $500 VW dealership card and 24-hour roadside assistance for his vehicle for three years.

Volkswagen also sent him information on the proposed Canadian class-action lawsuit.