Canadians Have A Right To Know The Financial Cost Of The War In Afghanistan
"I'm saying to the prime minister, 'Look, the public has a right to know here how their taxpayers' dollars are being used, what the costs of the war are, and an election is no time to start shutting the doors on important public information on a key issue that is facing Canadians as they make their choice.'"
Jack Layton
The War in Afghanistan has two distinct costs. The most expensive cost is the life of young Canadians in uniform killed in that hopeless quagmire. The lesser cost is the hundreds of millions or billions that taxpayers are spending to foot it. But we don't know what that cost is. It's our money ... it is being spent by our government in our name ... but we don't have any idea what we are spending.
Parliament's new budget officer, Kevin Page, told reporters that he would release the cost of the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan during the federal election as long as he had all-party agreement.
Layton - Dion - May want to know! Canadians want to know!
Mr. Harper has no choice but to instruct Mr. Page to release the relevant documents. Too bad if it doesn't fit into some strategist's election planning.
Jack Layton
The War in Afghanistan has two distinct costs. The most expensive cost is the life of young Canadians in uniform killed in that hopeless quagmire. The lesser cost is the hundreds of millions or billions that taxpayers are spending to foot it. But we don't know what that cost is. It's our money ... it is being spent by our government in our name ... but we don't have any idea what we are spending.
Parliament's new budget officer, Kevin Page, told reporters that he would release the cost of the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan during the federal election as long as he had all-party agreement.
Layton - Dion - May want to know! Canadians want to know!
Mr. Harper has no choice but to instruct Mr. Page to release the relevant documents. Too bad if it doesn't fit into some strategist's election planning.
PM isn't stonewalling is he?
Posted by
susansmith |
9:48 am, September 17, 2008
They will soon. Harper OK's release of report on costs of Afghan war
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/09/17/afghan-report.html
Posted by
susansmith |
10:28 am, September 17, 2008
Such a report shouldn't require all party approval before release. Other reports don't have that requirement; e.g. Auditor General, Official Languages, and Elections Commissioner. Why should this report be any different except that Harper is afraid of what it contains.
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Another expense yet to be calculated is the ongoing care and possible lifetime disability pensions for an increasing number of our men and women.
We can't measure the future costs of continuing treatment and therapy for people who have experienced some things that no person should have to undergo.
We need a commitment from Harper that he won't do what the VA has been doing to soldiers returning from Iraq--namely dump them out on the street and give them substandard care.
For an election that's underway, why does Harper and his team make such a mess of almost everything they come into contact with?
Posted by
Anonymous |
5:38 pm, September 17, 2008
Yep.We do have the right to know what its costing us.
Posted by
Joshua |
2:03 am, September 18, 2008