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Wyant has previously suggested that the push for the pools was political. Moe said much the same thing on Tuesday.

“I find it odd that there’s one project singled out out of those 400 applications,” said Moe. “That project happens to be here right in the city of Regina, right in Minister Goodale’s riding.

“This is an infrastructure fund that is put forward to ensure that we can move forward on provincial priorities. This is not Ralph Goodale’s re-election fund.”

Goodale stressed that his support for the pools comes from the priorities of Regina City Council. He said the province’s reluctance to fund them is “inexplicable.”

He suggested Moe’s criticism of his advocacy has a strong whiff of hypocrisy. He noted that 21 of the 25 projects the province submitted through its list of proposals are in provincial ridings held by the Saskatchewan Party.

“Surely, that’s not partisan,” he said.

He denied that he’s neglecting other parts of Saskatchewan to favour his own federal riding. He said he simply tries to get a fair distribution. He signalled that his advocacy for the pools has nothing to do with the upcoming federal election expected on October 21.

“I am on a funding blitz for Regina and for Saskatchewan every day, 365 days of the year, every single year that I’m in office,” said Goodale. “I am working very hard all the time to get the maximum amount of federal government investment into Saskatchewan and every part of Saskatchewan.”

He said he won’t be distracted by any disputes with the province.

“What’s important here is that the interests of Saskatchewan people in all of these communities get properly served, rather than caught up in in some silly political scrap,” he said.

awhite-crummey@postmedia.com