Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs has so far laid off 175 workers at the Stelco steel mill in Hamilton. The company said last month that it would lay off 500 workers in Hamilton and Nanticoke, Ont.Carlos Osorio/Reuters
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is demanding Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. CLF-N come up with a plan to restore jobs at Stelco Inc. as a condition for meeting after she threatened to take the U.S. steelmaker to court for allegedly violating the terms of its 2024 acquisition of the company.
Ms. Joly was responding early Tuesday to the latest letter sent by Cliffs to her office on Monday. Ohio-based Cliffs said in a statement on Monday that it requested a meeting with her on Oct. 23 to “discuss a path toward resuming full employment” of 175 Hamilton workers who have been laid off.
Speaking to reporters in Ottawa before a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Ms. Joly said that she was willing to meet with Cliffs, but she made a stern demand.
“First and foremost, what I want is a plan to bring back the jobs, and I want a timeline,” she said. ”And of course, I’m always willing to sit down, but that’s the first condition.”
On Sept. 28, Stelco announced that it was laying off up to 500 workers in Hamilton and Nanticoke, Ont. Not all of the layoffs have taken effect yet.
Late Monday, Cliffs reiterated in a statement that it believes it is complying with all of the promises it made to Ottawa as a condition of being allowed to acquire Stelco in 2024.
Cliffs said it expects Stelco’s “average annual employment” to be at least 1,879 for its unionized employees, which is 113 above the required level of 1,766. Salaried employment is expected to average at least 627 people, compared with the minimum requirement of 603, Cliffs said.
By reporting the average employment level for the 12-month period, and not the latest numbers, Cliffs appears to have leeway to lay off workers in Canada and still meet the minimum threshold allowed over the course of a year.
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The Globe and Mail reached out to both Cliffs and Ms. Joly’s office for further clarification, but did not receive an answer.
Cliffs chief executive officer Lourenco Goncalves said in an interview on BNN Bloomberg this month that the company plans to report its annual job figures for Stelco to Ottawa in November, and said the company “will be in compliance” with its obligations.
Ms. Joly reaffirmed on Tuesday that the government believes Cliffs is in violation of its “undertakings” – the legally-binding promises it made in 2024.
Apart from allegedly not meeting its undertakings around job commitments, Cliffs did not live up to promises made around promoting free trade in steel between Canada and the United States, she said.
“They had a clear commitment to make sure that there would be advocating in favour of tariff-free access of Canadian steel to the U.S. and they’ve done completely the contrary.”
In her letter to Stelco last week, Ms. Joly pointed to multiple examples of Mr. Goncalves advocating against Canada after the U.S. imposed tariffs on steel imports last year, including several instances of him giving kudos to U.S. President Donald Trump for introducing them.
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Ms. Joly has said multiple times over the past few weeks that Cliffs could face a lawsuit, and be forced to divest Stelco. On Thursday, she said she knew of potential buyers interested in acquiring Stelco.
But the Official Opposition doesn’t believe this is enough.
Conservative MP Michael Guglielmin, a former operations manager in the steel sector, said during question period on Tuesday that the Liberal government needs to be more aggressive in its approach against Cliffs.
“The government continues issuing warnings instead of taking legal action,” he said. “Enough letters, enough deadlines, it’s time to act.”
Cliffs boss Mr. Goncalves has repeatedly characterized the layoffs at Stelco as “temporary.” He has vowed to recall workers if Ottawa can reach a new deal with the U.S. that would see the steel tariffs either eliminated or fall significantly. He has blamed the closure of Stelco’s galvanized business on the 50-per-cent tariffs imposed by Washington, which he maintains have made it impossible for the company to compete in the U.S.