[isaidso]

OMG. Stelco and Dofasco have really played their hands poorly. It's entirely feasible to operate a profitable and strong steel maker in Canada, but you need to produce the highest value added steel possible and invest in the factory, r&d, and innovation. There are lots of steel production that still occur in the US, France, Germany, etc.

Stelco has simply made really bad choices and selling to a foreign company like US Steel was the last straw. If you're going to risk becoming a periphery operation by selling to a foreign firm, you better make sure it's to one of the strong global producers who are gaining global market share, not one that is shrinking.

If Stelco was still independent, do you think production would be shifting offshore? Nope, 100% of their efforts would be directed towards improving the Hamilton steel plant. It's absurd that Ottawa is contemplating giving billions of dollars to foreign auto makers like Ford and GM, when a firm like Stelco is in trouble.

Every significant country in the world needs a sizable industrial sector. The steel industry is at the very root of this. Once that goes, skills in all kinds of trades, jobs, and other manufacturing leaves the country as well. Once it's gone, it's next to impossible to get it back again. The idea that western nations don't need an industrial sector is really misguided and foolish. Post industrial economy?

Britain realized a while ago how important it was not to lose the ability to make products domestically and has been feverishly trying to reverse de-industrialization in the UK. We need to do the same. Not everything should be imported from China. If that comes to pass, we will one day find ourselves in a position where we can't afford to buy the Chinese products we import. We'll have turned ourselves into a poor country.

Ottawa needs to re-patriate Stelco, stop any production from being transferred to US plants, then pour money into this firm to turn it around. GM can screw off. So can US Steel.