MP presses government over tariff relief for National Steel Car

An MP pressed the federal government in the House of Commons on Thursday over its response to National Steel Car's request for tariff relief, calling the assistance it received a "useless letter" while the parliamentary secretary defended a written commitment to help the company modernize and expand.

The exchange, which took place during question period on Oct. 29, drew out a broader disagreement over whether Ottawa has done enough to support Canadian manufacturers hit by tariff pressures.

The MP for Dufferin-Caledon opened by describing National Steel Car as a manufacturer of steel rail cars with 98 per cent Canadian content that had sought tariff relief from the government and received, in the member's words, nothing but crickets and letters.

0:00

/0:00

1×

"Every day they get up and talk about how they're there for Canadian businesses and for workers," the MP said. "And yet when National Steelcar got in touch seeking tariff relief, what did they get? Crickets."

The parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Industry responded by defending the letter in question, saying it contained concrete commitments. "A letter that contains a commitment by the Government of Canada to assist the company to modernize, to buy new equipment, to expand production, to find new markets — is that a useless letter?" the parliamentary secretary said, adding that the government had been making similar commitments over the past six months.

The MP pressed further in a second question, listing several manufacturers by name — Stellantis, Cammie, Picard, Algoma and Stelco — and claiming each had sought government support and received nothing. "Stelco workers need support from this government. What did they get? A useless letter. And now National Steel Car needs help from this government. What are they going to get? Another useless letter?" the member said.

The parliamentary secretary pushed back on the Algoma Steel reference specifically, saying the government had worked to keep the company operating and help it shift toward supplying high-quality steel to the shipbuilding industry. "We have been trying and succeeding in keeping the company alive, in helping it pivot to a new way of making steel," the parliamentary secretary said.

National Steel Car, based in Hamilton, Ont., is one of North America's largest rail car manufacturers. The claims made by both sides in the exchange — including assertions about what companies received or did not receive from the federal government — could not be independently verified against official sources, as the Hansard for Oct. 29 had not been published at the time of writing.

No specific legislation or funding program was named during the exchange.