Afghan mission costs each Canadian household $1,500
Well, friends and neighbours, tomorrow is Election Day. Again.
Our third federal election in four years. And what have we got to show for it?
The economy is in the toilet, government programs have been slashed across the board, there’s barely a job to be seen this side of Alberta and we’re up to our butts in barracudas in that boondoggle of a war in Afghanistan.
And it’s a pricey boondoggle at that.
Last Thursday, Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page published a rough figure of the cost of the Afghan mission. Page said the mission pricetag was at least $18.1 billion, adding since he wasn’t allowed access to all the relevant figures, the actual figure was most likely higher.
The original figure published for the cost of the mission – only made public by Stephen Harper’s Conservative government after a formal Access to Information request by the NDP in April - was eight billion dollars, a hell of a lot less than Thursday’s report any way you slice it.
Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe said the Conservatives were not being "transparent and honest" with Canadians.
"In presenting numbers that were grossly erroneous on the cost of the mission in Afghanistan, Mr. Harper wanted to mislead the population," Duceppe told reporters.
But $18 billion bucks is a hard figure for the average Canadian taxpayer on the street to wrap their heads around. So look at it this way - every household in Canada is chipping in $1,500 bucks to keep us in that pointless war. It could actually be more, because some of the bigger government departments involved like Foreign Affairs and the Canadian International Agency "have not met any appropriate standard or best practice,” Page told reporters Thursday. "When compared with international experience, Canada appears to lag behind the best practices of other jurisdictions."
Page was scheduled to report to Parliament last month, but it was dissolved when Harper called an election.
How convenient.
Well, $1,500 bucks per household kinda puts a new spin on supporting the troops, eh? I don’t know about you, but I rather put my $1,500 towards groceries, or a car payment or even spurge on a real nice hunting rifle or a set of golf clubs, not to support a modern-day Vietnam on the other side of the planet.
When you put it that way, Afghanistan can go rot and I’ll keep my grand and a half, thanks very much. Hopefully the new Prime Minister will get the boots of those 2,500 soldiers back on Canadian soil and fast, before we’re on the hook for who-knows how much more money.
Anyway folks, remember that tomorrow when you give our current Prime Minister the boot.
Our third federal election in four years. And what have we got to show for it?
The economy is in the toilet, government programs have been slashed across the board, there’s barely a job to be seen this side of Alberta and we’re up to our butts in barracudas in that boondoggle of a war in Afghanistan.
And it’s a pricey boondoggle at that.
Last Thursday, Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page published a rough figure of the cost of the Afghan mission. Page said the mission pricetag was at least $18.1 billion, adding since he wasn’t allowed access to all the relevant figures, the actual figure was most likely higher.
The original figure published for the cost of the mission – only made public by Stephen Harper’s Conservative government after a formal Access to Information request by the NDP in April - was eight billion dollars, a hell of a lot less than Thursday’s report any way you slice it.
Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe said the Conservatives were not being "transparent and honest" with Canadians.
"In presenting numbers that were grossly erroneous on the cost of the mission in Afghanistan, Mr. Harper wanted to mislead the population," Duceppe told reporters.
But $18 billion bucks is a hard figure for the average Canadian taxpayer on the street to wrap their heads around. So look at it this way - every household in Canada is chipping in $1,500 bucks to keep us in that pointless war. It could actually be more, because some of the bigger government departments involved like Foreign Affairs and the Canadian International Agency "have not met any appropriate standard or best practice,” Page told reporters Thursday. "When compared with international experience, Canada appears to lag behind the best practices of other jurisdictions."
Page was scheduled to report to Parliament last month, but it was dissolved when Harper called an election.
How convenient.
Well, $1,500 bucks per household kinda puts a new spin on supporting the troops, eh? I don’t know about you, but I rather put my $1,500 towards groceries, or a car payment or even spurge on a real nice hunting rifle or a set of golf clubs, not to support a modern-day Vietnam on the other side of the planet.
When you put it that way, Afghanistan can go rot and I’ll keep my grand and a half, thanks very much. Hopefully the new Prime Minister will get the boots of those 2,500 soldiers back on Canadian soil and fast, before we’re on the hook for who-knows how much more money.
Anyway folks, remember that tomorrow when you give our current Prime Minister the boot.
posted by Street Wise Guy | 9:46 AM
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