A pal of my Dad's over 20 years ago was brought into run the Halifax Shipyards. A Scottish school years' chum who had taken another path and came to Nova Scotia via Hong Kong, he was going to reinvigorate the place. He was not able to because he got very ill and soon passed away at an age I now realize was quite young. So I have a soft spot for the shipyards that go beyond my Haligonian loyalties. Good news, then, today:

A Halifax firm has won a massive government contract to build the next generation of military combat ships.News of Irving Shipbuilding’s winning bid for the $25 billion contract capped an intense competition that began in the summer of 2010 to land Ottawa’s largest-ever purchase — one that the government says will create jobs and boost the Canadian economy for up to three decades. The contract is for up to eight Arctic offshore patrol ships and 15 other weapons-baring ships to replace the current fleet of frigates.

Twenty five billion. That's seven months gross provincial output for Nova Scotia. Jobs. Job for your brother. Jobs for your Da. Jobs for the living. Jobs for the dead. That's at least how McGuinty's song about the prospect of government work went in the 80s. But this looks a bit more real.