Thank you very much to everyone on this presentation.
It would seem that everyone is in agreement that these tariffs are a good idea. Thank you very much for presenting your various points, opinions and data on this.
Marty, you talked about this dumping that's been going on for a very long time. I'm the member of Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie. I've been there for quite a while. I've seen how important the steel industry is directly for the steelworkers, but also for the economy in the Soo and northern Ontario.
When I was first elected, Algoma Steel was in bankruptcy protection. The Tenaris tubes mill had a handful of people working there: basically just maintenance and keeping the lights on. They squarely blamed dumped steel. That was why they were in such a terrible situation.
Fast-forward, and in our first budget, we implemented a plan to strengthen Canada's response to unfair trade. We implemented measures that created a longer length of time in which a penalty, once levelled, would be in place, and then we launched a consultation.
After that consultation in 2017, we introduced some really important facts. The particular market situation was one piece of anti-dumping legislation, and there were the anti-circumvention scope ruling and union participation. I want to highlight and underline the union participation and how important I believe it has been for us as we continue our journey together to strengthen the steel industry. I think of Cody Alexander from district 6 and how he said he went to and participated in one of these committee meetings. They had a favourable ruling after the steelworkers presented how it would affect their jobs and how unfair this was.
Could you explain to the committee as well? I really appreciated the steelworkers' help when the section 232 tariffs were put in place—25% on steel and 10% on aluminum—and how the United Steelworkers on both sides of the border were able to work with us—including Leo Gerard, from northern Ontario, Sudbury, a Companion of the Order of Canada—and the importance of that voice.
Maybe you could explain to this committee the ongoing efforts of the United Steelworkers in working together, on both sides of the border, to strengthen the steel industry. I'd like you to provide some comments on that.