Commitments made to the provincial government by the company contracted to build two provincial government ferries less than a decade ago have yet to see fruition. It’s one of a number of revelations contained in the Auditor General’s recent audit of the purchase of the Legionnaire and the Veteran—two vessels that have been plagued with mechanical problems right from the start.

The AG’s report, released publicly this week, shows that at the time of the signing of the agreement in 2013, the shipbuilder submitted a commitments letter to government which outlined business development initiatives they would explore with the help of what was then the Department of Industry, Business and Rural Development. Those commitments, which were never formalized in a legal agreement, included the opening of a shipbuilder-certified support and service centre, or a partnership with a local company that would provide local capacity to service the two vessels. That was supposed to happen by January 1, 2016. A commitment was also made to enter into a partnership to open an Arctic research centre in the province, with the shipbuilder investing a minimum of between $500,000 and one million dollars towards the centre which would employ six to eight people and result in supply and other contracts beginning in 2016.

The AG’s report says that while the department indicated it had worked with the shipbuilder to explore those initiatives, her office could not find any evidence that the service centre, local partnerships or Arctic research centre were established.

In addition, Denise Hanrahan’s report shows that as the department with the lead relationship with the shipbuilder, she could not find evidence to show that the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure had worked with the Department of Industry, Energy and Technology to ensure the commitments made by the shipbuilder were fully explored.