City, steelworkers appeal to unseal U.S. Steel 'secret deal'

Retired steelworkers and the city of Hamilton filed an appeal Wednesday for the 2011 "secret deal" between the federal government and U.S. Steel to be unsealed.

A motion to expedite theappeal is expected to be heard in court on Monday, attorneys for the pensioners and the city said.

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TheOntario Court of Appeals decided last weekthat it would reconsider therequest to open the"secret deal" struck between the Canadian government and U.S. Steel in 2011, in whichthe feds dropped alawsuit against the American steel manufacturer even after it had broken promises to manufacture steel in Canada.

That deal has been secret, its terms concealed from even pensioners and the city of Hamilton, but lawyers for the pensioners have argued that much in the ongoing negotiationshinges on it.

Ontario Superior CourtJudgeHermanWilton-Siegelruled in May that while he thought the terms of the deal would have bearing on the bankruptcy case, he didn't have the power to unseal the document.

The steelworkers and the city are appealing that decision.