Update on Danny Williams Attack Ads

Last week in class, I brought up the topic of the attack ads that the Premier of Newfoundland, Danny Williams, recently launched against Prime Minister Harper. Today, when Harper was at a local legion in Kitchener announcing the new Bill of Rights and ombudsman for veterans, a journalist in the crowd asked the PM if he would be launching ads to counter Williams' arguments. Harper relplied that he intended on setting the story straight, implying that he would be creating his own ads, and felt confident that using tax payer dollars to do so would be justified. If these ads come to fruition, this will mark the first time in history that a PM has ever launched a campaign of ads attacking a provincial premier. My question to you is should the PM be allowed to use tax payer money to counter ads employed by Premiers, or does this only create an unnecessary, further divide and strain between federal-provincial relations?? If the PM is supposed to be the unifying figure of the nation should he be obliged to, at least publicly, refrain from segregating regions of the country?