Fiery rhetoric greets NDP delegates

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HALIFAX – In a vintage union hall table thumping speech today, international United Steelworkers president Leo Gerard lambasted the "right-wing nut balls" in the U.S. and slammed Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.

The Sudbury native, who heads the Pittsburgh-based union, left the NDP convention delegates standing in the aisles clamouring for more.

"I see Stephen Harper wanting to be an important person on the world stage. I want to tell Stephen Harper you can't be a master of the universe if you not even master of your own house and you are giving away our resources and our jobs and our economic future," Gerard bellowed.

He called Ignatieff the "prince of darkness" who too believes the free market is the answer for everything.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/681829#

Speaking with forked tongue.

'Buy American' not protectionism, says union

The head of the United Steelworkers Union says the so-called "Buy American" plan pitched by U.S. Congress last week is not protectionism, but rather a plan to create jobs at home and to help the ailing U.S. economy.

Leo Gerard said he was offended by the notion that the trade plan, which would ban the use of foreign iron and steel in building projects funded by President Barack Obama's stimulus plan, would hurt Canadian industries.

"The fact of the matter is, this isn't protectionism," the Canadian-born Gerard said Sunday on CTV's Question Period.

"It's trying to say that if we're going to rebuild the economy of Canada, and rebuild the economy of America, we've got to make sure that taxpayer dollars are going to be used to create jobs in those countries and get the economies back on their feet."

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090201/steelworkers_protectionism_090201/20090201?hub=TopStories

Canada issues warning to U.S. Steel

OTTAWA – Industry Minister Tony Clement is warning U.S. Steel that Ottawa may take legal action against the company over its temporary lay-off of Canadian workers.

In a letter to the company today, Clement said U.S. Steel must live up to the commitments on production and other business dealings the firm made when it was allowed by the federal government to take over Stelco Inc. in 2007.

"I am concerned by the actions of U.S. Steel in cutting operations in Canada and by the impact this will have on its workers," Clement said in the letter, which is the first step in the enforcement process under the Investment Canada Act that governs foreign acquisitions of Canadian corporations.

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/629921