QUESTION PERIOD — Innovation, Science and Economic Development
Steel Industry
December 4, 2025
Government leader, earlier this week, Algoma Steel announced it is laying off 1,000 workers, a third of its workforce. That’s 1,000 families losing their livelihoods at a time when grocery and gas prices keep climbing. In Ontario alone, food banks saw a record 8.7 million visits last year, 24,000 visits every single day.
Yet, when the opposition pressed for accountability on Monday, the response of the Minister of Industry, Mélanie Joly, was simply, “. . . stop whining.”
Senator Moreau, when will your government put Canadians first, provide relief to families struggling to feed themselves and secure jobs, not only in steel but across the economy?
Senator, I don’t want to minimize the difficulty of losing one’s job and the economic hardship many Canadians are facing. The government is well aware of that. That’s the reason why the government has taken strong action within Budget 2025.
Unfortunately, you stand here saying the same thing. We care about Canadians and Canadians who are losing their jobs. The problem is that whenever the government puts forward measures that would relieve those situations, your colleagues in the House of Commons vote against those measures.
It’s quite unusual for you to stand asking for measures to be taken, while, in the other place, you vote against measures that would help Canadians.
Leader, the fact is you say you care, but, despite that, the Prime Minister is completing a loop around the world every 44 days for photo ops. Canadians see no deals, no protections and no security for these workers and their families.
When will the Prime Minister end his sightseeing tour and start taking real action to protect Canadian steel jobs?
Well, when the Prime Minister is travelling throughout the world, it is to diversify markets for the Canadian economy, to create jobs here, to make agreements with all the countries in the world, to open new markets and doors for Canadian industry to create jobs here at home; that’s why he’s travelling around the world. Your leader should do the same.
