ACOA writes off balance of two multimillion-dollar loans to Irving company

FREDERICTON — An Irving-owned drywall plant in Saint John, N.B., won’t have to pay back the balance of a pair of multimillion-dollar loans from the federal government.

The two conditionally repayable loans, totalling $7.4 million, were issued in 2011 and 2012 under an Atlantic Canada Opportunity Agency program aimed at offsetting the impact of the closing of the Saint John shipyard.

According to a government memo dated March 27, Atlantic Wallboard fulfilled their obligations under the terms of the agreement although full repayment would likely never be made.

ACOA vice-president Kent Estabrooks recommended closing the file, and agency president Francis McGuire agreed.

As of February 2018, the company had repaid $540,000 of the principal, but it’s unclear if any more was paid, because the final repayment amounts have been redacted from the memo.

Irving officials were not immediately available for comment.

The Canadian Press

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