Joly threatens the "full force of the law" over Stelco. Cleveland-Cliffs' boss rules out a government takeover
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly warned on Wednesday that Ottawa will use the full force of the law if Cleveland-Cliffs does not honour the job commitments made when it bought Stelco, Global News reported. CBC quoted her telling the company not to support American tariffs and then blame job cuts on an act of God. The Globe and Mail reported that Cleveland-Cliffs chief executive Lourenço Goncalves dismissed the idea of nationalizing Stelco. The company announced on Sept. 28 that up to 500 workers in Hamilton and Nanticoke would be laid off, with cuts starting Oct. 9 in Hamilton. Ottawa gave the company five days, until about Oct. 11, to present a plan.
The Investment Canada Act review attached job conditions to the takeover. If the conditions cannot be enforced, they are only promises. The dispute also tests how Ottawa uses the act in a trade war.
If you work at Stelco or in its supply chain, Friday is the first layoff date. The Hamilton steelworkers' union says about 350 jobs are affected.
A company that took federal approval on the strength of its promises should be held to them.
No law can force a company to keep making steel for a market the tariffs have closed. Pressure may do more harm than good.
Watch the deadline. Cleveland-Cliffs can answer with a plan, a lawsuit or silence. Each leads somewhere different.
DailyDrop Canada edition No. 3 · Morning · WED., OCT. 7, 2026