Doug Ford talks NAFTA and protecting Ontario’s steel industry

When it comes to trade talks with the U.S. the stakes are high with thousands of jobs on the line. Today top auto and steel representatives turned to Ontario’s newly elected Premier-Designate to talk about the impacts of U.S. imposed tariffs.

Doug Ford says his top priority is to protect Ontario jobs but steelworkers in Hamilton are not yet convinced.

Top executives from GM, Arcelor Mittal Dofasco, and Toyota were among more than a dozen people focused on the man at the head of the table. Premier-Designate Doug Ford telling them that he’s focused on Ontario jobs.

Ford says his plan is to, “Not only protect them, but grow.”

But growth in the steel industry is next to impossible with the 25 per cent tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump and the threat of additional tariffs on the auto industry. When Ford was questioned on protecting the workers he said:

“Hopefully we are going to get through this and we will discuss this over the next week or so we are going to make the environment competitive.”

Darren Green is the president of the Hamilton Steelworkers Area Council and says Ford didn’t convince the workers that he has their backs. Green is also calling on the federal government to impose dollar for dollar counter tariffs on the U.S. immediately and not wait until July 1st.

“Those tariffs need to be imposed today. We have companies that are picking up the costs of those tariffs in Hamilton and elsewhere and they aren’t going to be able to continue doing that.”

While no jobs here in Hamilton have been impacted yet, Green says some of the mills are starting to slow down, overtime hours are shrivelling up and that’s because the tariffs are not sustainable.

If Trump keeps his word on imposing tariffs on the auto sector Green says:

“The steel industry is going to die and we are going to lose tens of thousands of jobs.”

While Kathleen Wynne once called Trump a bully, Doug Ford is saying “This is a lot higher than name calling.”

Ford would only say he supports the Prime Minister through this trade dispute.

“We will stand side by side with our federal counterparts and do whatever it takes.”

Political analyst Keith Leslie says that means “he’s learning, he’s meeting tomorrow with the foreign minister and the ambassador these are exactly the moves he should be making, he can’t say “they should be doing this or they should be doing that” he needs to get all the facts before he claims things need to be done and he’s doing that!”

Tomorrow Ford is set to meet with Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., David MacNaughton, to express the concerns he heard today.