The federal government and the federal Crown's office is a completely separate organization from the provincial Crown. It is certainly conceivable that the provincial Crown and the police operating in Ontario could have laid criminal charges against Volkswagen. There is no communication or co-operation in these kinds of investigations between provincial Crowns and the federal Crown. It is certainly my view that such collaboration does make some sense in certain specialized prosecutions. The understanding of the criminal process, and the understanding of the environmental legislation and the environmental science and collaboration between the two parties, could assist the Canadian public and stand for a more formidable enforcement of laws against serious environmental violators.
On December 9th, 2020. See this statement in context.