The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., the American owner of Stelco, is locked in a blustery battle of wills with Ottawa over Canadian job cuts. The Globe's Rita Trichur says the Ohio-based steelmaker, which is waging Washington's trade war by proxy, is goading Prime Minister Mark Carney's government to take it to court for violating labour commitments tied to its takeover of Stelco two years ago. Canadian officials, too, are refusing to back down, floating possible legal action that could result in financial penalties and the forced divestiture of Stelco. But in characteristic Canadian fashion, they have also consistently conveyed a willingness to resolve the conflict in conjunction with the company. You know, the old-fashioned way, by talking face to face. Cleveland-Cliffs's chairman Lourenco Goncalves, who takes credit for influencing Washington's steel and aluminum tariffs, is carrying U.S. President Donald Trump's water. Canadians, though, are in no mood for more American monkeyshines. Are Canadians really to believe that Cleveland-Cliffs is a hapless victim of U.S. tariffs? More likely, Cleveland-Cliffs is choosing to cheerlead Mr. Trump's churlish trade war.