HAMILTON – More layoff notices have been handed out to unionized workers at Stelco’s plant in Hamilton, Ont., as the company moves ahead with idling its cold mill and coating departments, despite threats from Ottawa to take the company to court if the layoffs go ahead. Industry Minister Melanie Joly said “everything is on the table,” including a forced divestment of assets or financial penalties if it does not heed the federal government’s warnings to stop the cuts. “We expect Stelco to follow the undertakings they’ve committed to the government of Canada,” Joly told reporters Wednesday. “And right now a business decision, or even a change in market conditions, cannot be used to not follow the commitment.” Last month, Cleveland-Cliffs, the U.S. company that owns Stelco, announced it was shutting down part of its Hamilton operation and cutting up to 500 jobs. The federal government says the move breaks commitments Cleveland-Cliffs made under the Investment Canada Act when it bought Stelco in 2024, including a pledge to protect jobs. The company maintains it has no choice, citing low steel prices and U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Ottawa rejected that argument, noting that the company’s own CEO has publicly supported the tariffs. Joly says said she is not backing down. “I’m always open to sit down with the company and find a solution, but we’re looking at everything to keep jobs in Canada,” she said. Cleveland-Cliffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but said in a letter to Joly that it does not believe the layoffs breach any undertakings Stelco agreed to in 2024. While the two sides trade blame, hundreds of workers are caught in the middle. “This whole thing is a manufactured crisis by Cleveland-Cliffs to put pressure on our government to go get a trade deal,” said Ron Wells, president of United Steelworkers Local 1005. “And quite frankly, we don’t feel appreciated. We don’t appreciate being used as pawns in this game.” It’s a message reiterated by Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath, who is currently running for re-election in the upcoming municipal election. “My biggest concern is that the Hamilton workers, our steel workers, are becoming the casualties of this tariff war that Trump has started,” she said. “I’m going to do everything I can to protect those workers’ jobs. And it’s an existential moment for our steel industry here in Hamilton.” While union officials say they welcome the government enforcing the Investment Canada Act, they stress the situation is urgent and worry the legal process could take months, or even years. “(Cleveland-Cliffs) told us there’d be basically no job losses, no layoffs, for five years,” Wells said. “So, we’re glad that the government has started the process. However, that’s going to be a long, drawn-out process if they take them to court. “Our members, they want to get back to work now.”
