Volkswagen Canada has stopped sales of many of its diesel models in this country following revelations late last week that the automaker had rigged emissions tests for almost 500,000 diesel cars in the U.S.

"Volkswagen Canada has issued a stop-sale order to our dealers for all of the affected vehicles pending resolution of this matter," company spokesman Thomas Tetzlaff said in an email to CBC News on Monday.

VW intentionally violated clean air standards, the U.S. EPA says
The stop-sale order came three days after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revealed that half a million diesel-powered VWs had been programmed to bypass emission controls, except during emissions tests.