Stelco layoffs: Ottawa sets a 15-day deadline. What now

Ottawa has sent Stelco's U.S. owner a formal demand over its job promises and given it 15 days before going to court. If you were laid off in Hamilton or Nanticoke, here is what that could change for you, and what it doesn't.

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What happened

• October 22: Industry Minister Mélanie Joly sent an 11-page letter to Paul Simon, Stelco's president and general counsel, alleging that its U.S. owner, Cleveland-Cliffs, has failed to honour six binding commitments it made when it bought Stelco in 2024 (CHCH News, with files from The Canadian Press; The Globe and Mail). It follows an October 5 letter that gave the company five business days to present a plan to meet its commitments.
• The job floors: an annual average of at least 1,766 full-time-equivalent unionized workers and 603 salaried workers, a promise that runs through 2029 (The Globe and Mail; CHCH News; CBC News).
• The deadline: 15 days to address the alleged violations, show it hasn't broken its commitments, or explain why it hasn't met them (CHCH News). Otherwise Ottawa can ask a court to enforce them (The Globe and Mail; CBC News). Counted from October 22, that is around November 6; the reports don't give a date.
• The company's side: Mr. Simon wrote on October 9 that the claim of a breach is "false" (CBC News; The Globe and Mail), and the company argues the trade war justifies not enforcing or renegotiating the commitments. The minister replied that tariffs were foreseeable in 2024 (The Globe and Mail).
• The layoffs, up to 500 announced on September 28, are going ahead; about 200 workers had been laid off by October 23, according to Buffalo Toronto Public Media, which also reported that the steelworkers' union backs the minister. The union locals expect about 333 layoffs in Hamilton and up to 50 at Lake Erie Works (CBC News, October 20).

For the background, the union agreements and the 35-week rule, see our guide to the Stelco layoffs, and for what a sale would mean, our article on a forced sale.

Why this letter matters

Under the Investment Canada Act, a minister who believes a foreign owner broke a written undertaking can demand that it remedy or justify the default within a set time (s. 39). If it doesn't, a court can, on the minister's application, order the sale of the Canadian business, a penalty of up to $10,000 a day or whatever else the circumstances require (s. 40). The Act also lets the minister accept a new undertaking from the owner (s. 39.1).

In 2009 Ottawa sued Stelco's previous owner, U.S. Steel, over its job commitments; that case settled out of court in 2011 (Government of Canada; CBC News).

What it could change for you

It is between Ottawa and the company. Only the minister can take the undertaking to court; workers aren't parties to it. A court order, a settlement or a sale could bring jobs back, but nothing says when.

If recalls come, your union agreement decides who goes back. A deal or a court order doesn't replace your seniority and recall clauses.

What doesn't change

Your rights under the Employment Standards Act run on their own clock:

• For a unionized worker, a layoff of 35 weeks or more in any 52 stays temporary only if the company recalls you within the time your union agreement sets (s. 56(2)(c)). If you haven't been recalled by week 35, your employment is treated as ended: termination pay is owed (s. 56(1)(c)), and severance pay too with 5 or more years of service (ss. 63(1)(c) and 64).
• For the first layoffs, which took effect October 11, week 35 falls in mid-June 2027. Weeks lost to a strike or lockout don't count toward the 35, though they still count in the 52 (s. 56(3) to (3.2)).
• At that point you choose: take the pay now, which gives up your recall rights, or keep your right to be recalled (s. 67(3) and (5)).

What to do now

Keep every layoff letter with its date, note the day your layoff began, and talk to your steward before you sign anything.

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