Almost three weeks after the big shipbuilding announcement in Ottawa, it would seem federal and provincial politicians are still jockeying for at least some of the credit.
Federal finance minister Jim Flaherty was the guest speaker at the Nova Scotia PC Leader's Dinner in Halifax Monday night, and the country's top money man took a not so veiled shot at the provincial NDP and its "Ships Start Here" campaign.
"Congratulations on the shipbuilding," Flaherty said to a roar of applause.
"You know, I see some things from my colleagues in the government of Nova Scotia", he added, wincing. "This is all federal money."
"It was an independent process and I think we all think the right decisions were made."
Provincial leader Jaimie Baillie echoed those sentiments, telling the partisan crowd the New Democrats would, "screw up" shipbuilding opportunities – "and we won't."
The $25 billion contract to build combat ships for the navy was awarded to Irving shipbuilding on October 19th.
Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter has compared it to hosting the Olympics every year for the next 30 years.
The Harper Government took great pains to insist there was no politics involved in the decision: it was made by an independent panel, solely on the merits of the bids.
Still, the Dexter Government spent $620,000 on a PR campaign called "Ships Start Here."
After the contract was awarded, Defence minister Peter MacKay criticized the campaign, suggesting it was a waste of money.
Flaherty hinted at that again Monday night, and took some credit for keeping families together.
"I'm very proud of the fact that many young Nova Scotians will be either able to stay in Nova Scotia, or come back to Nova Scotia and work."
Tuesday, Flaherty will deliver an economic update in Calgary.
Analysts say he may back away from ambitious plans to cut four billion dollars a year in spending to get the deficit under control, another sign the economic recovery remains slow.
