We can all breathe a little easier. Or, more precisely, all you Canadian owners of Dieselgate-afflicted Volkswagen TDIs can breathe a sigh of relief. You’re not going to get screwed.

Fair treatment wasn’t always a given. In fact, among Canadian TDI owners – at least, those posting online – there was a fair bit of trepidation. Yesterday’s settlement of the class-action suit penalizing Volkswagen Canada for cheating on its NOx tailpipe emissions took a lot longer than the American version (as you read here in Motor Mouth in July), giving the angst of TDI owners plenty of time to ferment into full-blown anger. Their anxiety was not alleviated by Volkswagen AG’s contention that, in Europe, it had a) done nothing illegal by having a computerized “defeat device” that allowed its diesels to pump out vast quantities of nitrogen oxides, and b) that its European owners were not eligible to the same level of compensation that U.S. TDI owners were getting. Judging from the, uhm, concern being voiced on various online forums, Canadian veedubbers were expecting the worst.

Those fears should now be allayed. In fact, a cursory analysis of the Canadian numbers reveals that, roughly speaking, our settlement mirrors, if not the total value of the American version, then at least its intent. The cars affected — 2009 to 2015 Volkswagen Golfs, Jettas, Beetles and Passats (not to mention a few diesel-powered Audi A3s) – are the same. The various conditions and exceptions — i.e. what happens if you sold or crashed your TDI, if your diesel-powered Volkswagen was leased, etc. – follows a similar formula. Even the modifications to make the errant TDIs emissions compliant are the same. 2015 models, for instance, require the same two-stage repair; even the offer of a free oil and filter change is similar to the American deal.

The compensation is even structured similarly, the first portion an “owner restitution payment” that is, for a lack of a better definition, a penalty paid to everyone with an afflicted afflicted Volkswagen 2.0-litre turbodiesel, whether they get their car repaired or they sell it back to Volkswagen. The second portion of the settlement, like the American version, is an offer to buy back the affected car for fair market value as of September, 18 2015, the date the EPA first notified owners of the defeat device issue. Like the American offer, owners who choose to get their cars repaired will get the first portion of the payment; those electing to give their cars back will get both.

The total payouts, exchange rates aside, are also similar. For instance, the U.S. $10.3 billion VW had to set aside to compensate its 475,000 owners averaged out to US$20,900. The Canadian package — as much as $2.1 billion to cover approximately 107,000 Canadian TDIs, works out to about $19,600. Critics will no doubt try to discount the fairness of the deal because of the value of our dollar, but Harvey T. Strosberg, who is a co-lead counsel for the original class-action lawsuit, notes that the discrepancy is at least partially explained because our fleet of TDIs is “older than the vehicles in the U.S.”.

And, indeed, when you look at the model-by-model compensation offered, the Canadian deal doesn’t look too bad. The maximum “vehicle value range” — what the Canadian settlement calls the buyback value — for a Canadian 2009 Jetta TDI is $14,364 compared with US$14,025, the most an American owner of a similar Jetta sedan would receive. A Canadian owner of a 2012 Passat TDI might be recompensed as much as $25,272 as opposed to the maximum US$23,387 an American owner might receive. Owners of newer models, however, don’t fare quite as well, Canadian owners of top-of-the-line 2015 Jettas and Passats offered noticeably less than their Yankee counterparts. An exchange rate calculation doesn’t make the comparison any better for Canadians..

Comparing cross-border “real” values, however, may not be fair since the vehicle value range I mentioned earlier is determined by Canadian Black Book as of September 18, 2015, just as the American values were set by the National Auto Dealer Association’s (NADA) “clean trade” value on the same date. Besides, it’s worth remembering that when most of these vehicles were sold, the Canadian dollar was at par with the American.

One thing that does give a moment’s pause, however, is that the range of those vehicle values is far wider in Canada, a used 2013 Golf TDI offering compensation all the way from $8,310 to $21,708, while the American trade-in value trades in a much tighter US$20,657 to US$23,837 range. One possible explanation is that CBB takes a harder stance than NADA with regards to mileage-based depreciation. And, indeed, a thorough evaluation of both deals would seem to indicate that Vokswagen Canada is not represessing its proferred trade-in values so much as the American distributor has inflated its offer. A cursory examination of the prices of used TDIs on both sides of the border would seem to indicate that the American trade-in numbers are higher – sometimes significantly – than what the market dictates.

However, like the American deal, the minimum “restitution’ payment – the penalty portion I mentioned earlier – Canadian TDI owners will receive at least $5,100. The maximum payment Canadians will be offered will be smaller, we north of the 49 th maxing out at $7,000 compensation while our Yankee friends get as much as US$7,967. Audi A3 owners can get as much as 8,000 Canbucks, but that’s still dwarfed by the US$9,852 offered to owners of American 2015 Audi A3s in Prestige trim. You can read the entire table of the settlement here .

In the end, however, the recent Canadian settlement closely emulates the template set out in the American deal, the most obvious difference in the numbers the exchange rate value of the dollars being offered. However, those critical of the agreement should first consider that the American tort system is far more punishing than our Canadian system, Strosberg telling the CBC that “punitive damages are enormous in the U.S. They have [product] recall statutes that make treble damages. We don’t have something like that here.” Hence Volkswagen’s greater generosity south of the border. And again, from 2009 until the end of 2013 – when most of these cars were sold – the Canadian dollar was essentially on par with the American.

Exchange rates and legal system differences notwithstanding, this settlement cannot be seen as anything other than a great deal for Canadian TDI owners. Other than our American friends, the compensations being offered will be the envy of TDI owners around the world. Volkswagen Canada has made good on its original promise, made shortly after the American settlement was reached, to “provide remedies to Canadians on pace with U.S customers.” I believe they have held to that promise.