The Federal Court is hearing requests by a company and a union that want to intervene in the Canadian government’s court battle with US Steel over the layoff of hundreds of workers this year. Canadian Industry Minister Tony Clement has asked the court to force the American company to live up to job commitments it made two years ago to get government approval for its USD 1 billion takeover of Stelco. Lakeside Steel has said it hopes to intervene in the court case and take over US Steel’s Canadian operations, which include facilities in Hamilton and Nanticoke, Ontario. Lakeside says its intervention would be in the public interest, as the temporary closure of most of US Steel’s Canadian operations has affected its customers and the steel market as a whole. Meanwhile, the United Steelworkers union says it should have a voice in the court proceedings because its members are the people who have been directly affected by the shutdown of the US Steel’s Canadian operations. The Pittsburgh company shut the Ontario operations this spring, with the loss of 1500 jobs, amid a major downturn in the auto industry and other sectors that use steel produced at the plants.