Statement from Keith Brooks, Programs Director
Toronto | Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Today’s $9 billion investment announcement is another step backwards on climate. The steel and automotive industries are foundations of the Canadian economy. We need to protect them. But today’s announcement misses an important opportunity to pivot these critical industries towards the future and may even keep them stuck in the past.
The steel supports announced today do not include any clear measures to modernize two of Ontario’s largest steel mills — ArcelorMittal Dofasco and Stelco — which continue to use aging coal-reliant technology. Keeping steel jobs in Ontario for the long term will require these facilities to adopt new technologies like electric arc furnaces, which increasingly outcompete legacy coal-based operations.
Meanwhile, the $2.5 billion to help Ontario’s auto sector shift to electric vehicles is completely undermined by the decision to delay tailpipe emissions regulations by another three years. This delay will mean Canadians will continue to struggle to access EVs and will be stuck driving cars that are extremely polluting, inefficient and expensive to fuel.
We don’t need to compromise on climate to bolster our domestic industries. We urge the federal and Ontario governments to match their spending with real climate commitments by phasing out coal and setting strong tailpipe standards. Canada cannot power the future if we remain stuck in the past.
Background:
- Two of Ontario’s three large integrated steel mills — ArcelorMittal Dofasco and Stelco’s Nanticoke plant — still rely on burning coal products to produce steel, and are two of Ontario’s largest sources of carbon emissions.
- ArcelorMittal Dofasco was promised $950 million in 2022 by federal and provincial governments to modernize their production away from coal, but has yet to begin construction activities four years after breaking ground.
- Two recent studies by Ceres and the Natural Resource Defence Council demonstrate that new investments that pair Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) with Electric Arc Furnaces (EAFs) will outcompete facilities that choose to reline their blast furnaces.
- In August, the federal government repealed the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard, without implementing a replacement regulation.
- The government says it still wants EVs to reach 75 per cent of new vehicle sales by 2035. But it will be nearly impossible to achieve that without ratcheting up emissions standards between now and 2030.
ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.
– 30 –
For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
Lauren Thomas, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca
