Joly threatens ‘full force of the law’ over Cleveland

Canada’s industry minister said Wednesday Stelco Holdings Inc. cannot use the trade war to justify cutting jobs it committed to when it bought the Hamilton, Ont.-based steel plant, particularly when the head of its U.S. parent company has publicly backed steel tariffs.

Mélanie Joly told reporters that the chief executive of US-based Cleveland-Cliffs has supported steel tariffs and therefore cannot characterize the company’s plan to lay off up to 500 workers due to tariffs and market pressures as beyond its control.

“He’s in favor of these US tariffs against steel,” she said, referring to Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves’ public support of American steel tariffs.

“They cannot say that this is now an act of God or force majeure.”

If the company does not respond to the federal government’s demand for a plan outlining how it will meet all of its commitments, including maintaining more than 1,500 jobs, Ottawa will pursue enforcement action, Joly said.

“They need to comply,” she said. “If not, we will use the full force of the law.”

Canada gave US-based Cleveland-Cliffs the green light to purchase Stelco back in 2024 under the Investment Canada Act.

Canada’s approval of that takeover was contingent on the new owner maintaining the number of union jobs and the majority of non-union positions, Joly said.

She sent a letter to Stelco president Paul Simon on Monday demanding a plan outlining how Cleveland-Cliffs intends to comply with all of the undertakings it made to Ottawa when it acquired Stelco, including its jobs commitment.

Ottawa has not yet received a response from Stelco on the letter, Joly said.

Meanwhile, she distinguished Stelco’s planned job cuts from recent layoffs and plant disruptions in the auto sector, saying Cleveland-Cliffs made legally binding employment commitments when it acquired the steelmaker.

“These obligations are binding.”