Bill for Canada’s war against Islamic State reaches $122-million

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The cost of Canada's role in the battle against Islamic State militants in Iraq has hit $122-million and the government is asking Parliament to cut a cheque to the military as it deliberates continuing a mission the Conservatives appear set to extend.

Defence Minister Jason Kenney announced Monday he's seeking authorization for funds to cover the first six months of Canada's Operation Impact mission in Iraq. A Commons motion passed in October gave legislative approval for a deployment until early April, when the Tories will have to decide whether to prolong the fight.

"Costs will ultimately be higher than that, but how much higher will depend on whether we wrap up the operation at the end of March, or extend it," Mr. Kenney said.

The $122-million figure is bound to be met with skepticism Tuesday when the Commons resumes sitting. Opposition parties say the government doesn't count the full costs of the mission and Parliament's budget watchdog is set to release its own estimate of the war to date.

Mr. Kenney suggested Monday the government is leaning toward extending the Iraq engagement while cautioning Ottawa has not finished deliberations.

"Our government is inclined to continue playing a meaningful role in the fight against this genocidal terrorist organization. We believe Canada should not stand on the sidelines. However, we have not yet made a final decision," he said.

The funding sought from Parliament would cover the bill until early April for Canada's aerial combat mission based out of Kuwait – six CF-18 fighters – as well as the costs for surveillance flights and refuelling aircraft in the U.S.-led coalition that currently dominates the skies over Iraq and parts of Syria.

The money will also cover the 69-soldier military advisory mission in northern Iraq, where Canadian special forces troops are directing air strikes from the ground and helping Kurdish peshmerga fighters .

The sum of $122-million might seem small for six months of aerial combat and ground operations, but the government is only revealing what it calls the "incremental costs" of this activity, a sum that does not include expenditures that would be incurred regardless of whether the planes and soldiers were stationed at home instead of posted abroad.

As of Feb. 15, CF-18 Hornets have conducted 320 sorties over Iraq, the CC-150 Polaris air refueller has flown 80 times and Canada's Aurora aircraft have conducted nearly 90 surveillance missions.

Mr. Kenney said he believes Canadians will support the spending. "This is a vicious death cult that is a threat to regional and international security," Mr. Kenney said. "They have declared war on Canada and our allies, and that's why Canada has a responsibility to be there."

"We just saw this savage organization behead 21 people for the crime of being Christian in Libya this week, burn a Jordanian air force pilot alive last week."

He said ending the mission in April would also incur extra costs for returning equipment and Canadian Armed Forces personnel to Canada.

"We think these costs are entirely reasonable given the importance of this mission where Canadian Special Operations and our Royal Canadian Air Force are having a meaningful impact."

Canadian special forces have ended up playing a more active role in the battle against Islamic State fighters than initially expected and the military says these elite soldiers are at the battle front lines about 20 per cent of the time. In a number of cases, Canadian soldiers have shot and killed Islamic State forces after coming under fire while advising the Kurds.

An Ipsos Reid poll for Global News released Feb. 14 suggests domestic support for Canada's aerial combat mission in Iraq has risen in the past five months. The same survey indicates that Canadians would support an extension of the mission.

Nearly three quarters of those surveyed agreed strongly or somewhat strongly that Canada "should do everything possible to prevent [the Islamic State] from getting its own state, even if it means putting Canadian soldiers on the ground in Iraq."