Ottawa: Government is trying to determine whether the Canadian unit of General Motors had delayed the recall of some cars, breaking the law in doing so, after the U.S. fined the parent company $35 million for its delayed response.

Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said in the wake of the U.S. move to fine General Motors for not recalling cars with faulty ignition switches as soon as it knew about the problem, she instructed her officials to get answers from GM Canada.

“Having seen what has developed in the United States I’ve gone back to my officials to go back to GM Canada and ask them when did they find out. Did they find out at the same time as GM in the U.S. told the world or did they know earlier than that?” Raitt told reporters on a conference call.

“I need to get that information and that answer from GM Canada before we move any further because, as you know, if they had that information and didn’t put the recall in place, then they could be in violation of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act,” she said.

GM Canada began its recalls in February with 235,855 vehicles affected by faulty ignition switches. It issued three more recalls this week for 181,500 vehicles for various reasons.

GM Canada was not immediately available to respond to Raitt’s remarks.