Morneau says he wants financial aid to flow faster to steel industry but process must be followed

The federal government has so far exempted 50 Canadian companies from surtaxes imposed last summer when Ottawa slapped retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Tuesday as he faced pointed questions about his relief plan from political opponents.

Morneau provided the figure before a parliamentary committee, where opposition MPs accused the government of being too slow in helping Canadian firms affected by the cross-border tariff fight.

Members of the international trade committee also said Ottawa's remission request process has been too onerous for many companies, particularly smaller ones already consumed by the day-to-day activities of running their businesses...

This was excerpted from the 16 October 2018 edition of CBC News.