With Labour Day weekend at hand, summer's winding down and the Yarmouth ferry has yet to sail.

The Nova Scotia government is still hoping there will be a shortened sailing season, but it's still not clear when -- or if -- The Cat will sail.

"To my knowledge, there's been no change," said Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil. "There's no update."

The ferry service has been plagued by delays, however, Nova Scotia Transportation Minister Lloyd Hines says he's still hopeful there will be crossings between Yarmouth and Maine.

"This is not a game," said Hines. "From our perspective, we are committed to that service. We will see it operate and if we can get some in this year, we intend to do that."

Hines says progress continues to be made with the U.S. Border and Customs Protection, and that renovations at the ferry terminal in Bar Harbor remain ongoing -- although he can't say what's left to finish at the site.

"It's like a skit out of Monty Python in terms of the response from the government," said Progressive Conservative MLA Tim Halman.

"The government owes it to Nova Scotians to tell them what is going on and what we get is just comical answers from the government," Halman said.

NDP leader Gary Burrill said this season has been a washout.

"To say on the 29th of August, 'well, we're still hoping that there might be able to be a little bit of a season,' when you are in the week before Labour Day, you are for all intents and purposes, at the end of the show," Burrill said.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation continues to raise the alarm over the cost of the ferry service.

"We know we're sending $8.5 million to the United States to upgrade a second U.S. ferry terminal and that the government wrote a blank cheque to the Americans for that," said Paige MacPherson of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. "And we know that they had budgeted about $13.5 million dollars for their operating subsidy this year, but the ferry hasn't sailed, so we don't know how much that's actually going to cost."

At this point, there are about six weeks left in the sailing season.

The town manager for Bar Harbor, Maine, says the last time he spoke with Bay Ferries, they were still working to get construction done.

A spokesperson for Bay Ferries says all marine facilities are now complete and land-side facilities are at different stages of completion.

As for The Cat, it's said to be ready to operate.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Natasha Pace.