Iraq mission cost isn’t confidential, watchdog says

Canada’s budget watchdog slammed defence officials Friday for refusing to divulge the cost of the Iraq combat mission.

In a succinct letter, Parliamentary Budget Officer Jean-Denis Fréchette took aim at the deputy defence minister, Richard Fadden, for saying the military’s cost estimate for the six-month airstrike is a cabinet confidence.

“As you will be aware, cabinet confidence exists to allow for free and frank discussion of problems that come before Cabinet,” wrote Fréchette. “It does not, in this case, apply to the data provided to Cabinet.”

Fréchette’s letter goes on to say that if the cost was included in a discussion paper weighing whether to join the combat mission, “the decision to engage in military operations has been made and, therefore, the data can no longer receive protection under” access to information laws.

Fréchette said he needs the estimate so he can be sure the department has enough funding for the mission. His letter reminds the government that it passed a motion to join in on air strikes over Iraq on Oct. 3 — meaning one-quarter of the sixmonth mission has already passed. He made his request for estimated costs on Oct. 15.

The military said earlier this month that it had provided the government with an estimated cost for the mission. But Defence Minister Rob Nicholson told the House of Commons defence committee Tuesday there would be no figures disclosed until the mission is over.

He cited changing costs of ongoing airstrikes, despite the fact that Australia, which joined the U.S.-led mission just days before Canada, has already provided a cost estimate of $500 million per year.

In response to the PBO letter, Nicholson’s spokeswoman echoed his comments that the government will release the estimate “through existing parliamentary mechanisms.”

Earlier this month, the Citizen estimated the first week of air operations to cost between $2.7 million and $4.1 million. It calculated the average cost of a sortie by hour, combined with hours flown.

Those figures are likely low. They do not include incremental costs” costs such as salaries and maintenance, which, if included, would bring the full cost of the first week to between $8.1 million and $12.1 million, according to the Citizen’s calculation.