In light of the newest 25 per cent tariffs imposed on Canadian steel and aluminum by United States President Donald Trump, Saskatchewan steelworkers responded.
“My message to Donald Trump is to stop , you have to stop,” said United Steelworkers Local 5890 President Mike Day.
“You’re hurting both Canadian and American economies, as well as workers in both countries. This is an economic attack on workers.”
The biggest concern, according to some steelworkers, is the uncertainty around what President Trump might do next in the escalating trade war.
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“We’re talking about workers and we’re talking about families and communities and right now everything is up in the air and we don’t know what the next move is,” said United Steelworkers staff representative Patrick Veinot.
Day says that if Trump were to double the tariffs to 50 per cent, or even increase them above the 25 per cent level, the steelworkers industry would likely see cutbacks.
“The uncertainty of what he’s going to do in the next three hours, tomorrow, next week. You know it’s stop playing games with workers on both sides of the border,” said Day.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says the provincial government is working closely with the steel industry to support the work that they do and keep them employed.
“We have been actively engaged with numerous employers in that industry on how we can work together to support the work that they do, maybe in a little bit different and innovative ways than what we’ve seen before,” said Moe.
But according to Veinot, steelworkers have been kept in the dark by the provincial government.
“As organized labour we understand together we’re stronger. And that’s not what’s happening right now in Saskatchewan, there’s silence and we’re left on the outside wondering what he’s going to bring back, and that’s not how you run a province,” said Veinot.
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