Categories: Capital Read, Inside the Queensway

This sounds like a job for the Party of Accountability!

by kadyomalley on Thursday, October 9, 2008 12:03pm - 13 Comments

Whatever happened to those guys, anyway?

From the Globe and Mail story on the full cost of the Afghanistan mission (I won’t spoil the surprise, but here’s a hint – it’s nowhere near what Canadians were told!):

Mr. Page’s chief conclusion is that parliamentarians who vote on spending for the Afghanistan mission cannot possibly have a clear idea of what it is being spent on what operations are really costing.

And his officials said that government departments did not provide information the Parliamentary Budget Office requested to make its work more precise — like the actual number of troops on the ground in Afghanistan, and what equipment is there.

“Although Canada is in the seventh year of the Afghanistan mission, Parliament and Canadians have not been provided with accurate and comprehensive departmental cost estimates,” Mr. Page said.

The figures the Department of National Defence has reported for its actual extra spending for the Afghanistan mission do not match those it has in its internal books, the report found. The department’s reports to parliament are two years, and more than $2-billion, behind its internal books, and includes different amounts for what it actually spent on its operations in the field.

Military missions consistently exceed the planned cost reported by the government, the report found.

Listening to the Prime Minister taking questions on the full cost during his daily media event, I don’t believe I’ve ever heard him use the word “bipartisan” with such frequency and fervour.

Tags: Afghanistan, high cost of doing war, parliamentary budget officer, remember transparency?

More by kadyomalley

Paul Wells

There’s a LOT of room for different positions on how to account a war-related cost vs. what’s not a war-related cost. It makes good sense for the PBO to have a broad definition. It’s hardly a scandal if the PBO comes up with a larger number than the government does.

This is kind of a little fishy, though:
“he department’s reports to parliament are two years, and more than $2-billion, behind its internal books, and includes different amounts for what it actually spent on its operations in the field.”

Keeping two sets of books is not normally a sign of laudable sophistication.
http://www.macleans.ca Kady O’Malley

I am now riveted by coverage of the Prime Minister’s media availability, specifically, the two human props behind him holding HARPER LEADERSHIP signs. The one on the right looked like he was about to burst into tears. Hey, someone just brought up Randy White! That’s a name that brings back memories of late-election plot twists past.
Paul Wells

That’s “The department’s reports…”
Jobu

Umm, aren’t these figures exactly in line with what Harper has been saying? About $8m to date?

“Canada has spent $7.7 billion to $10.5 billion on costs related to its mission in the past six years…”

In addition, remind me how many of those 6 years were governed by the CPC?
Riley Hennessey

I agree with Paul! Afghanistan was said to cost over 8 billion, and this report says it will cost roughly 10 billion.

With all the different methodologies for counting costs, no wonder people will have different figures.

What matters is that this war costs a significant amount, and should be debated and discussed accordingly to its large costs. The Conservatives, in my opinion, have not supported or defended this mission effectively since they came into office. They haven’t properly explained or categorized costs, and the Afghanistan Parliamentary committee is a joke.

Maybe this new budgetary office will do some good for the discussion. I applaud their efforts.
Charles H

Jobu: The problem appears to be that the PBO can’t get all the information he needs. (Note the comments about govt. depts. not responding to requests for information.) Which results in the following final paragraph:

“Mr. Page’s report argues that such estimates are not very useful, but clearly implies that it is far too low, anyway. It estimates that the extra, “incremental” costs of the mission alone have already been $7.6-billion to $10.47-billion.”

That’s just the incremental, which means over-and-above the normal costs — which the article claims the govt. estimate of $8.1-billion included in their estimate.
Scott M.

Jobu… The major difference is that the Government said the $8 Billion was a *full cost* including the cost of the soldiers’ salaries, etc.

$7.7 Billion is just the *incremental cost*, the cost that we paid in addition to the soldiers’ salaries, etc.

Huge, huge difference.
Wascally Wabbit

Kady – you call them human props – I call them ConBots – or SignBots to be more precise!
As to looking close to tears – I ALMOST felt sorry for PMSH – he is really looking today as if the responsibilities of the last two years weight heavily on him – or is it the multiple faut pas of the last 3 weeks that are the cause?
A.Political

comment by Wascally Wabbit on Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 1:20 pm:

I ALMOST felt sorry for PMSH – he is really looking today as if the responsibilities of the last two years weight heavily on him – or is it the multiple faut pas of the last 3 weeks that are the cause?

=====

Its the thought of losing the power he now wields, nothing else, certainly not the soldiers and sure as heck not Canadians.
http://demosthenes.blogspot.com Demosthenes

Maybe he’s just going to miss the limousines. Didn’t he sell the van because he loves riding around in them just that much?
Heather

He’ll still have a car and driver as an opposition leader. And he’ll have Dion’s gym at Stornoway, no need to have a full security contingent to go out for power walks. And Cheddar will love sniffing all over the house for dog scent.
Bruce

To those willfully blind to the facts;

Chretien/Martin committed troops in first place, sending them over woefully under equipped.

2002-2008 was projected at $8 Billion.

This report projects total costs for the period from 2002-2011 at $18 Billion.

This report also includes capital expenditures on major equipment, CIDA development aid, etc.

The spin being put on this is just more Liberal manipulation and lies.
Ti-Guy

Maybe he’s just going to miss the limousines.

What motivates Stephen Harper is nothing so crass and pedestrian as that. It’s his conviction, born fully-formed in his teens and unassailable since that time, that He. Is. Right.

If all of us little people got out of His way, we’ll see it eventually.