As layoffs begin at Stelco's Ontario operations, the question of how far Ottawa should go to protect Canada's steel industry is back on the table. A legal expert now says the federal government should seriously consider nationalizing the Hamilton steelmaker, arguing the company's strategic importance justifies extraordinary measures.
The suggestion lands amid a week of pressure on the sector. Federal threats of legal action over the layoffs have not stopped job cuts at the plant, and opposition politicians have urged a lawsuit against the company, keeping Stelco at the centre of the national debate over industrial policy and trade.
Nationalization would be a dramatic step — Canada has rarely taken direct ownership of a major private industrial firm in recent decades — but supporters say the alternative is watching a cornerstone of the country's steel capacity shrink at a moment of trade tension. Critics will likely counter that Ottawa already has regulatory tools, from investment reviews to trade remedies, that stop short of a takeover.
For the workers in Hamilton, the debate is anything but academic. With each new round of layoffs, the question becomes whether Canada's steel future will be decided in boardrooms, in courtrooms, or in Parliament.
