Yes, absolutely.
The main pollutant in question here with the VW violations is NOx, nitrogen oxides. They are known to cause cancer, or to have been linked to some cancer conditions. Health Canada has data to show that exposure to NOx is associated with many deaths in Canada every year. Other pollutants also come out of the diesel exhaust of diesel engines that were not particularly part of the regulatory charges, for example, particulate matter. All the diesel exhaust together can have severe public health impacts.