Unions demanding swift action following announcement of layoffs for eastern Ontario steel plant

Ivaco Rolling Mills in L’Orginal, east of Ottawa. (Austin Lee/CTV News Ottawa)

Unions representing Canadian steel and aluminum workers are demanding government support amid the threat of tariffs from the United States.

Local unions including the United Steelworkers (USW) and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) held a media event Wednesday at the USW Hawkesbury union hall to fight back against layoffs.

“Government has the ability to act now because they call an election. They have the ability to make changes to Employment Insurance before an election is called or even during the term of an election. The time is now, we cannot wait,” said Bae Bruske, CLC president.

“Right now is the time for every single leader of every single party to be thinking about how they’re going to support workers. Worker priorities and safeguarding our social safety net have to be priority one.”

Joey Berniquer, a worker at Ivaco Rolling Mills, says there’s a lot of anxiety at work, noting that “nobody likes to go into the unknown.”

“Everything is up in the air for, basically, everybody at the work and in the community as well. April 2 will be a big date. There’s a lot of anxiety at the plant,” Berniquer said.

The call comes after the Canada Metal Processing Group (MPG), part of The Heico Companies, announced a workforce reduction of employees across its three manufacturing facilities, including Ivaco Rolling Mills in L’Orignal, east of Ottawa. The company also operates a plant east of Montreal and another near London, Ont.

The USW says 30 workers received permanent layoff notices on March 7. More than 120 members received notices of temporary, one-week layoffs that began this week on March 12.

“The company has indicated the tariffs and lack of orders are why we’re getting these job losses and work disruptions,” said Eric Fournier, president of USW Local 7940, which represents 225 workers in Ivaco’s rod mill, including the 120 workers affected by the temporary layoffs.

More than 470 workers are represented by three USW local unions at Ivaco’s operations in L’Orignal. Ivaco produces hot-rolled wire rod and steel billets used in construction, bridges, auto parts and machinery.

“In just two weeks, over 150 jobs have been slashed, that’s mothers, fathers, neighbours who now have to figure out how they are going to pay the bills,” said USW area coordinator, Richard Leblanc. “Local businesses are going to suffer, services are going to decline and the entire town will feel the impact.”

The Canadian Steel Producers Association estimates that Canada exports 10 million tonnes of steel to the U.S. annually, supporting 23,000 Canadian jobs.

Canada and other countries were hit with 25 per cent U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the United States on March 11 — as part of Trump’s broader efforts to realign global trade.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s William Eltherington and Tyler Fleming