Barry Zekelman is offering $1,000 a tip to flag foreign steel on public jobs. He put the bounty on, telling the Financial Post he wants whistleblowers to report non‑Canadian steel on government projects. The timing is no accident, as Ottawa tightened procurement and import rules this summer and says it wants Canadian steel in federally funded work where possible.
The federal toolbox got bigger in July, with Public Services and Procurement Canada bringing in an interim reciprocal procurement policy. This policy can shut out suppliers from countries that block Canadian bidders. Two days later, Finance Canada added tariff‑rate quotas on steel imports, added a 25 percent “melt and pour in China” surtax, and said federal contractors will have to source Canadian steel unless they get a ministerial exemption. If a project needs imported steel, the contractor has to prove a Canadian mill could not, or would not, make it at a sustainable cost or schedule.
Procurement Rules Decide What Bites
If a whistleblower tip lands on a federal file, PSPC can act where the contract requires Canadian content or specific origin, or where the contractor attested to it. The standard clauses allow termination for default, and poor performance can trigger vendor corrective measures. The main point is evident: if a contractor promised Canadian steel then bought foreign, Canada can cancel, re‑procure, and charge the difference. Making this a quiet clause, but a loud bill.
The CBSA enforces trade remedies under the Special Import Measures Act, with 158 measures in force protecting about 31,000 jobs and C$11.6 billion in production. In September, CBSA hit steel strapping from China, South Korea, Türkiye and Vietnam with provisional duties up to 48.8 percent after a domestic complaint. If a tip exposes mis‑declared origin or dumped product, duties follow and margins shrink. A bounty is noisy, the penalty is quiet, and both cost time.
All this is happening while Washington’s 50 percent steel tariff walls off the U.S. market. Ottawa’s response includes a C$10 billion Large Enterprise Tariff Loan facility and, on Sept 29, a C$400 million federal loan plus C$100 million from Ontario for Algoma to pivot away from U.S. sales. The government is also telling departments to buy Canadian steel “where possible,” with an exemptions ledger ministers must sign.
What A Tip Can Trigger
A credible tip can set off three moves. First, a contract check, did the bid or change order specify Canadian steel or origin proof, and did the contractor certify it. Second, a procurement action, up to termination and re‑award if the promise was broken. Third, a customs or trade‑remedy referral if the issue is mis‑declared origin or dumped product. None of these needs a press release; just an email, a cure period, and a notice to stop work.
Where this gets political is outside Ottawa. Provinces and cities run most bridges, schools, and transit builds, and their trade agreements limit “buy local” rules unless Ottawa money is attached. Zekelman’s bounty invites photos of foreign girders on taxpayer jobs. That is cheap fuel for opposition benches and an expensive day for any contractor who signed the wrong certification. Contractors will likely spend thousands on origin affidavits and mill test reports to avoid losing millions on a terminated job.
The bounty changes nothing on paper, but it may change behaviour on site. Ottawa already has the power to cancel contracts and collect damages, and CBSA can levy duties and keep them updated. If tips push more files into that machinery, foreign steel on public jobs gets riskier, fast.
