The Afghan war will ultimately end up costing Canadian taxpayers over $22 billion, or about $700 per person. The figures are contained in an upcoming study by David Perry, a former deputy director of Dalhousie University's Centre for Foreign Policy Studies. The study will appear in the International Journal, published by the Canadian International Council.
Canwest News Service reports that some of Perry's findings were discussed at a Sept. 16 conference attended by military leaders and analysts from Canada, the U.S. and several Asia Pacific nations.
In an interview with Canwest, Perry said he was not surprised at the numbers, since "We're fighting a war on the other side of the world and that takes a lot of resources."
The breakdown includes:
- $7 billion for the incremental cost of the war from late 2001 to 2012, everything from ammunition and fuel to the salaries of reservists and contractors.
- $11 billion for long term health care of Afghan war veterans and related benefits, as well as dealing with post traumatic stress disorder among troops.
- $2 billion to purchase mission specific equipment, such as Leopard tanks, howitzers, counter mine vehicles to aerial drones and six Chinook helicopters. Defence officials argue that such equipment will be used on future missions beyond Afghanistan. The figure didn't include the latest $95 million lease for additional aerial drones.
- $2 billion for the replacement of the military's LAV 3 fleet. "This fleet is going to be worn out pretty soon from the wear and tear of Afghanistan and will have to be replaced," said Perry.
- $405 million for repair and overhaul costs.
Perry's study finds that the Liberal government had provided extra funding to the Defence Department to cover 85 per cent of the Afghan war costs. The Conservatives, however, are funding only 29 per cent of the cost to the Defence Department for the war, with the remaining money coming out of DND's existing budget.
Last January, the head of the army, Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie, warned that the service was stretched almost to the breaking point and replacement stocks of equipment for Afghanistan have long been used up, either destroyed by the enemy or in the process of being repaired. Leslie warned that much of the service's combat vehicle fleet is in need of repair, the result of operating in the harsh Afghan terrain or from excessive use in training in Canada for the war.