A lease agreement filed by Stelco appears to suggest the steelmaker could demolish its most polluting Hamilton facility — a coal-baking coke plant — within seven years. But Stelco spokesperson Trevor Harris said via email the steelmaker “has no plans in place” to stop making coke at the plant. Slate also released conceptual art of its proposed redevelopment of the Stelco lands that did not include any visible smokestacks for the current coke plant operations. The suggested lease deadline is “concerning” for the 150-plus unionized workers who run the coke plant and related equipment, said United Steel Workers Local 1005 president Ron Wells. Stelco finishes steel in Hamilton, but no longer manufactures it on the city bayfront.

Source: The Star June 07, 2022 10:03 UTC