ArcelorMittal Dofasco refuses to tell public when $2B decarbonization plan will happen

At a heated community meeting Tuesday, a representative from Hamilton steelmaker ArcelorMittal Dofasco said when it comes to its decarbonization plan, no decisions have been finalized despite the supposed 2030 deadline fast approaching.

While Gas Gebara, Dofasco's general manager of environment and energy, acknowledged "timelines have shifted," he refused to provide any indication of when it will follow through on its plan, or even if it will happen in the next quarter century.

"To share information that the project will be done in 2050 is irresponsible," he told the virtual public meeting, which is held quarterly.

"We're not in a position to share speculative timelines. We don't want to mislead."

The steel giant's messaging has shifted dramatically since 2022, when Justin Trudeau, prime minister at the time, visited the plant as part of a ground-breaking ceremony for the decarbonization plan.

With nearly half a billion dollars from the federal and provincial governments, Dofasco pledged then that it would transition from coal to cleaner sources of energy, cutting emissions by 60 per cent by 2028. It's Ontario's largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

In 2024, a CBC Hamilton investigation found it had missed key milestones including demolishing an old coke plant to make room for a direct reduced iron plant powered by natural gas or building a pipeline to deliver that gas.

At that time, the federal government said the deadline to reduce emissions was 2030, two years longer than first announced.

Then President Donald Trump was elected and imposed tariffs on the Canadian steel industry. That's why, Gebara said, it's proceeding with "extreme caution for all expenditures."

'Stringing us along'

Last week, CBC Hamilton reported on a project amendment posted to a federal government website that said the "contractional" timeline was updated to 2050 and Ottawa would provide $50 million more, bringing the expected total cost to nearly $2 billion.

And instead of producing direct reduced iron in Hamilton, ArcelorMittal will ship it in from its Quebec facility.

The amendment was posted last March, but Dofasco did not publicly announce the changes on its website or at the community meetings until Tuesday.

"We've had two incidents when CBC Hamilton does an investigation and publishes its findings and it's the only way we find out about substantial updates," Environment Hamilton's Ian Borsuk, a member of the Community Liaison Committee, said during the meeting.

"To me it's unacceptable from a public relations standpoint and a basic respect of the community stand point. I am thoroughly disappointed. I feel like [Dofasco] is stringing us along."

Gebara disagreed the company was "stringing" anyone along and said it has told the public it is working "responsibly through phases." The timeline, he said, "depends on decisions that haven't been finalized."

Coke oven undergoing 'extensive' repairs

The meeting, attended by about 60 people including residents, researchers and Environment Ministry representatives, also heard Dofasco is planning to upgrade at least one coke plant to keep it running longer.

"Over the next year, we're undergoing a fairly extensive oven repair program to minimize emissions and maximize factory life," said Michael Brown, a senior environmental specialist at Dofasco.

It's planning to shutdown its other coke plant while "at the same time we have people dedicated to oven repair and maintenance," he said.

ArcelorMittal's website hasn't been updated to reflect the project changes, said Lynda Lukasik, the city's director of climate change initiatives, at the meeting. She requested the company update it so it's easier for the public to know what's going on. She added that she's already made this request at the last meeting.

Lukasik also challenged Gebara's assertion it is "irresponsible" to provide a timeline to the public as it could change.

"You've got commitments from provincial and federal governments to fund the upgrade, those are public funds," said Lukasik. "That should signal all the more reason for transparency even if there's uncertainty."

Steel industry operating in 'unprecedented times'

Jochen Bezner, a member of the Community Liaison Committee, said Dofasco didn't hesitate to announce a timeline in 2022 when Trudeau visited and had seemingly made decisions about the project back then.

"So you're telling us all those announcements before were placeholder announcements?" he asked.

Gebara said "so much has changed" since 2022 and the Canadian steel industry is operating in "unprecedented times."

But, Borsuk said, Dofasco had already missed milestones before tariffs were imposed.

"You haven't pointed to any actual work that has been done on this project up to Trump's election or after."