Do the feds owe Hamilton an apology over U.S. Steel?

A Hamilton MP will take the floor at the House of Commons Thursday demanding that the federal governmentapologize to Hamilton for allowing the U.S. Steel takeover.

David Christopherson, NDP MP for Hamilton Centre, will introduce the private members motion at 5:30 p.m.

He wants the government to do three things:

• Apologize to the people of Hamilton for approving the 2007 foreign takeover of Stelco by U.S. Steel.
• Share with the public he commitments U.S. Steel agreed to in 2007 under the Investment Canada Act, and also the 2011 out-of-court settlement around employment and production guarantees.
• Protect pension benefits for 15,000 employees and pensioners.

The latter, his motion says, may include amending the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act to protect workers when a company goes bankrupt.

The company is undergoing a major Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) restructuring. It sought bankruptcy protection in September, citing years of losses.

A superior court judge approved an $185-million loan from U.S. Steel Corp, the American parent company, to get it through the next year.

Documents filed with the bankruptcy court state that U.S. Steel Canada plans to sell its Hamilton and Nanticoke plants by next October.

Last month, the company hot idled its Hamilton coke battery, indefinitely halting its local coke-making operations as it looks for a potential buyer.