Military brass says MacKay knew full estimated cost of Libya mission

OTTAWA — Already under fire over the cost of the F-35 fighter, Defence Minister Peter MacKay found himself fighting a second front Friday following confirmation he knew the Libya mission would cost tens of millions more than he told Canadians.

"He knew the estimates, for sure," Maj.-Gen. Jon Vance said. "In fact, he presents the estimates to cabinet. So yes, the minister would have known what the all-up estimated costs of the mission could be."

The revelation, coming weeks after the Conservative government admitted it did not reveal the F-35 would cost $25 billion, likely will reinforce allegations Canadians have been misled and put pressure on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to replace MacKay.

As reported by Postmedia News on Thursday, figures buried in a Defence Department report tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday put the full price of the Libya mission at nearly $350 million, including more than $100 million in "incremental costs."

The Defence Department generally does not report full costs — an issue that has been at the heart of the F-35 controversy — but it generally is expected to reveal incremental costs, which are those deemed to have been incurred specifically because of a mission.

The $100-million figure stood in stark contrast to comments made by MacKay to CBC in late October, when he told Canadians the incremental costs were less than $50 million — which he noted was about $10 million less than the Defence Department had predicted.

MacKay warned during that interview that "there could be more costs that come in after the fact," but the $50-million figure was later broadcast to other media outlets by MacKay's office and widely regarded as the mission's final tally.

Vance, speaking at a hastily-arranged news conference at National Defence Headquarters on Friday afternoon, said the military had told MacKay before his interview that the incremental costs for the Libya mission were expected to top $106 million.

"We're pretty proud of them because they were very accurate," Vance added regarding the Defence Department's estimate.

In the House of Commons on Friday, MacKay said he was simply stating what the cost of the mission had been as of mid-October, and that extra costs were incurred as equipment and personnel returned home from the mission.

Opposition parties, however, drew a link with recent revelations the government failed to reveal weeks before the last election that the F-35 stealth fighter program would cost $25 billion and not the $14.7 billion that was put forward by the Defence Department.

"Every time (MacKay) speaks you're going: 'Well, is this the real number or is it going to change by tomorrow?'" NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar said. "The buck stops with Peter MacKay and the bucks aren't being counted properly. And that's his job."

"When the real numbers become available, they're just quietly slipped in under the table, hoping no one will notice," Liberal deputy leader Ralph Goodale said. "This seems to us to be a deeply troubled department with a minister that is just not capable of handling the job."

Opposition members refused to call for MacKay's resignation, but that may be only a matter of time.

They already have accused MacKay of incompetence after he incorrectly claimed last month that the F-35s' $25-billion cost estimate came from the parliamentary budget officer when it was actually his own department's number.

The minister also has been criticized for being picked up from a private fishing lodge in Newfoundland two years ago by a search-and-rescue helicopter.

Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Lee Berthiaume