Bluenose II costs still being paid to former company overseeing rebuild
MHPM, the company that was overseeing the rebuild, has collected almost $1.6 million since day one
The Nova Scotia government continues to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to the management company that mishandled the Bluenose II project, even though the province ended up taking over the rebuild of the iconic schooner.
MHPM was hired by the province in 2009 to be the project manager and was supposed to bring the project in on budget and on time. It did neither.
The Bluenose II was initially supposed to return to the water in summer 2012 after an extensive rebuild with a budget of $14.4 million. The bill for the rebuild has grown to more than $20 million.
Almost three years after it was supposed to be sailing, the schooner sits tied up under wraps in Lunenburg.
When it was hired in 2009, MHPM was paid $22,000 a month plus expenses; a total of $1.353,819.24 up to January 2014.
At that point, the province stopped paying MHPM the monthly fee and instead started paying it $120 per hour.
So far, MHPM has billed for and been paid an additional $239,420.46.
'There doesn't seem to be any end in sight'
NDP Leader Maureen MacDonald said the McNeil government has had the file for almost two years and despite tough talk, the costs continue to mount.
"The concern now is that there doesn't seem to be any end in sight. The government has promised they were going to take this in hand and they obviously haven't been able to do that," she said.
Earlier this year, Nova Scotia's auditor general issued a scathing report about the Bluenose II, chastising the Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage for its contract with MHPM, saying it lacked key clauses and did not include penalty clauses for late delivery of the project.
The auditor general cited MHPM for not attending all required meetings and not always completing monthly status reports.
Optimism for summer sea trials
Transportation Minister Geoff MacLellan says MHPM's services are still needed.
"There's also a history there that this organization had with the Bluenose II file and with the project, so for us it became about getting some of that historical information and using what they know to help us strengthen our position here as we work toward completion of the project," he said.
MacLellan said last week he hopes the schooner will be ready for sea trials by early summer.
The province is still withholding a portion of money from the former project management firm.
"When the province took possession of the Bluenose II from the builders, $25,000 of the $250,000 milestone payment was withheld. The $25,000 would be paid upon the correction of deficiencies. The amount has not been released to the buildersm," said a transportation department spokesperson.
CBC News contacted MHPM, but has not received a response.