On Tuesday, the federal government announced $64 million in financial assistance to 99 small and medium Quebec enterprises in the metal processing industry as a measure to support Canadian industry through the strains caused by U.S. tariffs. For the United Steelworkers (USW) and Unifor, these investments are positive, but fall short of the holistic approach they have been advocating for.
Minister of Industry, Melanie Joly, said the new measures give businesses the means to remain competitive in an uncertain economic climate and investment in the steel industry is particularly strategic for the Canadian economy.
A joint statement released by the USW and Unifor the same day as Minister Joly’s announcement highlighted that workers need solutions that provide stability.
“Strategic sectors (including steel, aluminum, autos, aerospace and defense, clean energy technologies, critical minerals, and forestry) must be supported not with ad-hoc government contributions, but with long-term policy certainty,” the statement reads.
Marty Warren, national director of USW, said Tuesday’s announcement demonstrates the type of measures workers need during the trade war but the government remains “allergic” to certain forms of intervention.
“In general, there is a willingness on behalf of the federal government to take on new policy ideas which in other times would have been disregarded or rejected outright,” Warren wrote in an email to rabble.ca. “However, in general, there remains a palpable hesitancy from the federal government not to get too directly involved and be seen as ‘intervening’ in the market, and even less taking a direct role.”
Still, Warren said his union and Unifor want to see the government take a more proactive approach to investment in the steel sector. Particularly, Canada needs to strengthen its domestic capability to produce steel products like structural steels and rail.
“While we accept the argument that Canada is rich in natural resources and energy, we oppose simple ‘rip-and-ship’ strategies which leave value-added processing on the table for other nations to claim,” Warren said. “Instead, we want to see a much more conscious intention from the federal government that rejects the ‘rip-and-ship’ strategy for an ‘extract-process-manufacture’ view. We think this is the best way to build domestic resilience and protect our sovereignty.”
Warren stressed that the government has taken positive steps in the face of the trade war. USW and Unifor continue to highlight policy shortcomings because of the importance of the current moment to Canada’s economic future.
“It will not be enough for government negotiators to lead the charge: as Canada enters CUSMA negotiations and develops industrial plans, unions must be included at sectoral tables to ensure strong outcomes not only for industry, but for workers,” the joint USW-Unifor statement reads. “This next year will be the most consequential in Canada’s history, and securing a strong, future-ready economy means safeguarding the industrial sector, that has long been at its core.”
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