Ottawa has announced a $100 million program aiming to reduce the cost of shipping steel between provinces and territories over the next year, in an effort to support domestic producers affected by U.S. tariffs.
Transportation Minister Steven MacKinnon described the rebate plan as a way to reimburse manufacturers for 50 percent of the freight expenses incurred when transporting eligible Canadian-made steel products across the country by rail or ship.
MacKinnon told reporters during an Aug. 10 press conference that the Commodities Sectoral Support Program, launched the same day, is a direct response to what he called the “extremely unfair, unjustified tariffs” imposed by the United States on the industry. Standard steel mill products currently face tariffs of up to 50 percent.
“We will defend this industry to the very end, and we will make sure that this industry not only survives, but thrives and prospers,” MacKinnon said while speaking in Hamilton, Ont.
“A strong steel sector is essential to our national security, supplying the materials needed for defence equipment and critical energy infrastructure.”
The new program is scheduled to run for one year, or until the $100 million funding allocation is exhausted. A single recipient can qualify for a cumulative rebate of up to $50 million, the minister said.
MacKinnon appeared to leave the door open to extending the program if its funding is exhausted before the one-year period ends.
“We‘ll adjust as we go along. This is a lot of money, and we’ll see how the take-up goes,” he said. “But supporting the steel sector in one form or another will be something that we will continue to evaluate and continue to adjust as we go along. So we'll see how this works out.”
The rebate program is being launched as a part of the plan Prime Minister Mark Carney announced last fall to work with rail companies to cut freight rates in half for shipping lumber and steel through the provinces. The program was originally scheduled to begin this spring.
Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) board chair Ron Bedard said the program would have a “tremendous” impact on the industry.
“We will use all of that $100 million, and it will help every province,” Bedard told reporters. “There are projects going on in every single corner of this country and they will now have lower-cost access to Canadian steel produced across this country.”
The federal government also indicated in a June press release that it is considering similar support measures for the forestry sector, as U.S. tariffs and changing global trade dynamics affect Canadian industries.
