Libya, one year later
Grave of Canadian airman desecrated in Libya
Canadian charged in Gadhafi plot
A CC-150 Polaris tanker, a CF-18 fighter jet fly over 8 Wing/CFB Trenton, ON, during a flyby rehearsal held in preparation to a commemorative flyby at Parliament Hill in recognition of the Canadian Forces' contribution in providing aviation support to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas in Libya.
Credits: JEROME LESSARD/QMI AGENCY
OTTAWA - The Conservatives defended the cost of Canada's mission into Libya after National Defence unveiled Friday the total bill was $347.5 million.
That includes costs - such as salaries and fuel - that would have been spent even without a mission. The military pegs the mission-alone costs at $103.6 million.
That was still enough to rile opposition parties, who said Defence Minister Peter MacKay should have known the mission's larger-than-estimated expense and disclosed it.
In October, MacKay told media outlets and Parliament the mission cost would hit $50 million, even though senior military officials said they estimated the extra costs to take part in the mission would be $106 million.
"He (MacKay) would have known what the estimated cost would have been for sure," said Maj.-Gen. Jon Vance, the director of the military's strategic joint staff.
But Vance says the minister didn't mislead the public or lowball the costs.
"What he told you was the cost of the mission to that date," said Vance, adding that bills were "still coming in" when he addressed it.
Taxpayers also spent more than $800,000 on a flyover and ceremony to mark the successful Libya mission.
Canada participated in a NATO mission last year, enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya in hopes to end the crackdown on pro-democracy protestors who wanted leader Moammar Gadhafi ousted.
