Joly seeks Competition Bureau probe of Stelco as more layoffs loom

With the deadline for Cleveland-Cliffs’ layoffs at Stelco approaching, Industry Minister Melanie Joly is asking the Competition Bureau commissioner to investigate whether the U.S.-based owner may be breaking Canadian competition law. In a statement Friday, Joly said the federal government wants the commissioner to thoroughly examine whether Cleveland-Cliffs’ conduct in the Canadian marketplace warrants enforcement action under the Competition Act.

In her letter to the commissioner, Joly cited comments by Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves. He said he bought Stelco because he could no longer afford to have it flood the U.S. market to the detriment of his own company. Ottawa has issued several warnings to the steelmaker. In a letter dated Oct. 29, obtained by Global News and addressed to Stelco president Paul Simon, Joly said she expected a “concrete and credible plan for re-engagement with these workers.”

Stelco began issuing layoff notices to about 500 employees in early October after announcing plans to scale back operations at its Hamilton plant. The company says some workers laid off in Hamilton will be offered jobs at its Lake Erie facility. The union representing Stelco workers told Global News that only 40 jobs have been offered to affected employees.

In a letter sent last month, Joly warned Stelco that if it did not reverse the layoffs within 15 days, the federal government would begin legal action. That action could ultimately force parent company Cleveland-Cliffs to divest the Canadian steelmaker. Cleveland-Cliffs has maintained that one reason for the layoffs is the 50 per cent tariff on aluminium and steel imposed by the U.S., which the company’s leadership has publicly supported.

Last month, Prime Minister Mark Carney was asked by a reporter at an Ottawa event whether, given developments in recent weeks, the federal government felt it had been a mistake to allow Cleveland-Cliffs to acquire Stelco in 2024. Carney replied that “the mistake here would be Cleveland-Cliffs not respecting the obligations, the commitments that they made in the acquisition.” He had also said the company would be making a “mistake” if it failed to honour those commitments.