Harper agrees to release of Afghan war cost report

Updated Wed. Sep. 17 2008 12:24 PM ET

The Canadian Press

OTTAWA -- Stephen Harper has given his blessing to the release of a report on the cost of the Afghan war -- a document that could sway Conservative fortunes in the vital electoral battleground of Quebec, where the mission is highly unpopular.

Parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page has tallied the full cost of the mission -- past and future -- and said he would like to release it. But he was worried about interfering with the federal election and asked for all-party consent.

All opposition parties gave their blessing Tuesday, and the prime minister agreed Wednesday.

The minority Conservative government has estimated the cost of the six-year mission at under $8 billion. If the new figures are much higher, it could be bad news for Harper.

Polls have repeatedly shown that Canadians are lukewarm to the mission, especially in Quebec, where Harper must make gains to have any chance of winning his coveted majority.

And critics suggest cost overruns in the Afghan mission could erase the government's shrinking surplus and put the country into deficit, especially given the economic slowdown.

The Afghan mission has been a heavy burden for Canada with 97 soldiers and one diplomat killed. Canada has more than 2,000 personnel based in the dangerous Kandahar region.

The awkward timing of the Afghan report came as Harper made his most direct pitch yet for a majority government. He said Tuesday that he needs a "strong mandate" to fight crime and preserve law and order.

He also said the country will need a forceful government to weather economic uncertainty.

Poll results in the first week of the election campaign suggested the Tories were in majority territory. But they have since slipped, as some voters leery of a Conservative majority apparently had second thoughts.

The latest Canadian Press Harris-Decima poll suggests the Liberals are gaining on the Conservatives, whose lead has shrunk to 10 points from 15 last week. The survey put the Conservatives at 38 per cent support and the Liberals at 28.

All the party leaders were out on the hustings again Wednesday.

Dion was first out of the campaign blocks with a $600-million promise to boost support for students and research.

In a speech at the University of Western Ontario, Dion said Canada's productivity and economic success depend on investments in research and development.

He said a Liberal government would increase education grants and bursaries, and guarantee low-interest loans.

Layton was next with a multibillion-dollar national child-care plan. He promised to create 150,000 daycare spaces in the first year of an NDP government, at a cost of $1.4 billion -- on top of current programs.

More money and spaces would be created in future years as funding permits, he said in Toronto.

Harper was in Welland, Ont., promising tough new measures aimed at discouraging access to tobacco and marketing to children.

He said his government would ban the use of flavours and additives, like bubble gum and cotton candy flavouring. He would also prohibit tobacco advertising on Internet sites and in publications that appeal to youth.

Green Leader Elizabeth May was in Halifax releasing her party's full platform, led by tax breaks for low-income earners and for industries that cut carbon emissions.

Like the Liberals, the Green are also proposing to cut income taxes and raise taxes on fossil fuels.

May also promised to:

• Hike the GST by one percentage point to help municipalities pay for improvements to their crumbling infrastructure and public transit.
• Allow income splitting.
• Reduce contributions by employers to Employment Insurance and the Canada Pension Plan.

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Please Add Comments( )

Roger T

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What a waste of tax payers hard earned $$$. Funding and fighting a losing war for no cause but just for image sake. Nothing is achieved and now cut and run! Don't waste my tax $$$ pls. We have homeless people who need to be fed, rampant crimes on the rise that need to be acted upon, land claims and payouts to be resolved and the list can go on and on.......

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Brett in Montréal

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Finally! I can hardly wait to see how the CONS will spin all this-- how many billions spent on death Mr Harper?? Vote Liberal and let`s get this country back out helping the world as Peace Keepers and not war mongers like Harper.

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Marcel

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The PM says he is willing to release this information. However, how long is the Canadian public going to have to wait? Mr. Harper release it ASAP.

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Ken - Calgary

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I wonder how much Harper censored or removed from the document before he agreed to its release. After all, accountability is something that Harper only promises - he never actually follows through on it.

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Phil

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Here's hoping that people don't pay too much attention to Jack Out-to-lunch Layton (who lost my vote with his abysmal performance in the last session). I would be satisfied with a minority government by either the Conservatives or the Liberals since neither party has earned a long leash.

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Carol

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It wouldn't surprise me one bit to find the war costs will exceed $12 Billion.

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Jason R

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Brett in Montréal "Finally! I can hardly wait to see how the CONS will spin all this-- how many billions spent on death Mr Harper?? Vote Liberal and let`s get this country back out helping the world as Peace Keepers and not war mongers like Harper." ---------------- That's rich considering the LPC got us into combat in the first place and supported the continuing combat deployment in Kandahar. Wake up!

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John

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I wonder how many people belly-ached about the cost of winning World War 2? The reason that countries have militaries is to fight wars, if the need arises. The need is here; let's finish the job. Peacekeeping is not what armies are for. Yes we've done peacekeeping but right now, there is no peace to keep. Let's not allow the cowards to help the enemy and remove our troops before the job is done.

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someonewhohasactuallybeenthere

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hey if anyone remembers the liberal goverment sent the troops to afghanistan. the liberal goverment gave them the combat mission. all that the harper goverment has done is give them the tools to do the job. there would be far more deaths if we were still driving around in lightly armoured SUVS.

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someonewhohasactuallybeenthere

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hey if anyone remembers the liberal goverment sent the troops to afghanistan. the liberal goverment gave them the combat mission. all that the harper goverment has done is give them the tools to do the job. there would be far more deaths if we were still driving around in lightly armoured SUVS.

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RobO

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To all you Lib lovers who can't wait to slam the Cons on this, always remember it was the Lib who sent us there. As a retired Military Member, I find your comments disgraceful. I can only hope that one day our country will not be in the same place. Then who will you be screaming for to fight for you and at what cost? Maybe the military will turn their backs on you because it cost too much. Maybe you should learn to walk in the shoes of our brave men and women. Then you will understand that no cost is too much to complete the mission.

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J.C.

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It was not the Harper government that sent our forces to Afghanistan in the first place - it was the Liberal party under Martin's rule. The Harper government has sent the equipment the soldier's needed,and it is the Harper government that is slowly but surely building our forces back up after being torn down by the Liberal's that were in power for many years. This was necessary expenditures, and I hope for our military's sake that the people of Canada realize this when they see the figures to be released, whatever they might be. Too often the Liberals used money taken from the military to expand socialist programs. We need to keep our military strong for both threats and times of peace for rescue, such as the ice storm that hit Quebec and the Maritimes several years ago. We also need to expand our presence in the north so that other countries will realize that we will not cede our territories to them. We also have to keep our military built up to prevent or fight terrorism. Security for our country is of the utmost importance!!

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Nick in Ottawa

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... To those who say Canadians are peacekeepers, I suggest you brush up on your Canadian war history and come back and tell me the same. Visit the War Museum in our Capital if you ever visit. Talk to veterans. Read. Research. You will see that you are sadly mistaken, as Canada has been a nation of fighters for faaar longer than it has been peacekeepers. Get a grip on reality, blue berets are a part of our military identity, but it isn't THE identity. Battles during the 16th and 17th century with our neighbours to the south, War of 1812, Rebellion of 1837, The Boer War, WWI, wwII, Korean War, Vietnam (yes we were there stupid)... These are all a long, rich history of fearsome warriors that are respected around the world. Canadian warriors. Our warriors. Show a little respect, don't disgrace our history or misinform our future generations by focusing on the last 40 years of our 400+ years of history.

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funkright

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This comment "Vote Liberal and let`s get this country back out helping the world as Peace Keepers and not war mongers like Harper.." doesn't recognize who got us into Afghan war to begin with... I think it's time for Liberals to take a good look into the mirror

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baddogbob in NS

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Although Mr. Harper had no input into getting us involved in Afghanistan, he has put aside possible election fallout to agree with costing figures. That is the sign of an honest politician & I will thank him for his honesty with my X.

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Steve in Fredericton

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Roger T, Brett, Marcel, and Ken: I suppose if you four geniuses ran the country we would all be safe and sound (and richer as well) under the eternal protectorate of the US, UK, and all the other troop-contributing nations to the war on terror. And of course, they would never expect anything in return at any point so we could blithely carry on in our "we all love each other" wonderland you've created. Get real gents. The world is an ugly place full of bad people. Our contribution, although costly in terms of $ and lives, is nothing more than a global community-watch effort. It needs to happen in order to ensure our neighbourhood is free from thugs and terrorists.

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Max in Vancouver

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Hilarious Canada in Afgan was a Liberal decision. The "contract" entered into by our then socialist government. Why would people blame Harper for the spending that has taken place on this war? Dion and Layton can promise anything they want. They will never have to worry about keeping their promises. This vote buying is really hard to swallow. In order for Dion to have some of his proposals accepted by government, he would actually have to attend the house and vote. This would be a true change for him. Following these leaders makes me shiver to think that they represent Canada to the rest of the world. Your choice, a Frenchman, an American, a Communist/Socialist or a Canadian family man. Seems pretty clear to me.

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Cons need to stop conning...

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Typical Con Comments, Its OK to for Harper to Lie, cheat, swindle and spend spend spend.... We will just somehow blame it on the libs and what happened 20 years ago! Get over it! Harper extended the mission, AND put the cost at the 8 billion. If he was wrong, and HUGELY wrong (as I am sure we all assume) that is the CONSERVATIVES ISSUES!! not the libs... Good try! I really would have liked to have a full tab of the billions Harper and Cons have conned us out of since he took up his Minority chair, before the vote...Just so we can stop HARPING about the scandals of the past and start focusing on the scandals of the present! Do we all forget Harper won (and only a minority) based on a honest open campaign? What happened to that? cause all i have seen is lies and coverups ! (yeah yeah we know Libs did it before..boohoo..cry me a river...)

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Mark in Ottawa

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...Peacekeeping costs just as much as war fighting - salaries and logistics are the biggest expense, bullets are cheap...having 2500 peacekeepers or 2500 war fighters, it will be the same expense... And we didn't have a tradition of peacekeeping until the 50's - before that Canada was known internationally for it's ferocious war fighters...so enough with the peacekeeping tradition bull... Also, I'd like to see the cost of the war vs. the costs of maintaining a peacetime military...much of the 'cost' of the war would be there regardless - salaries for soldiers, logistics, bases, regular equipment maintenance and replacement... I bet 70% of the cost of the 'war' would be spent if all the soldiers remained in the garrison at Edmonton or Petawawa - break down those numbers so we can see what percentage is DIRECTLY related to the war and what is money that would be spent regardless of the mission...

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Jay W

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"Maybe you should learn to walk in the shoes of our brave men and women. Then you will understand that no cost is too much to complete the mission". Harper is the one who is gonna cut and run. He even made it part of his re-election platform...' Its a battle that won't be won, ever. No example exists in any ones history where this type of insurgency was quashed. Afganistan has many attempts in its past. So if we had left when the liberals wanted to at least we would have saved money and our own soldiers lives from a futile battle that will go on until everyone pulls out. But that's the key. Harper will flip flop because fear gets votes, which he will need when he breaks his own law again in his next minority government. That's if he even wins one. Republicans have been doing it since 2001 and Harper is just using this mission to get the votes he wants.

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Connie

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I hope the press gives the numbers a real going over. Past "releases" (ministerial expenses for example) hid money from the ledger.

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John

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"Let's not allow the cowards to help the enemy and remove our troops before the job is done." The job will never be done! The majority of Afghans are Taliban or Taliban-sympathetic. To get the job done, we have to be there till "infinity" or kill most Afghans. Which one do you prefer to get the job done?

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GC

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Let's not forget who got us into this war. Look, you can hide your head in the sand or deal with the threat. There are people in the world who oppose our way of living and are determined to disrupt our lives. Some of you would rather follow the Neville Chamberlain doctrine of appeasement and capitulation and that is insulting to those who have sacrificed in the past. Shame on you!

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Ernie in Pritchard

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A word to Parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page. Not releasing this document borders on criminal. You are afraid that the voters of Canada might base their decision on the facts? You should be locked up and all your files siezed and turned over to the press untill the election is over.

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just about to leave afghanistan

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I would just like to point out to the few ppl on here saying we should be peace keepers. Afghanistan is nowhere near ready for peace keeping, but i'm sure your tax dollars would be paying for alot more coffins if we were. Peace keeping here is just a faster way to get people killed but what would i know i have only been here twice. Thank god people like you aren't in charge otherwise you would have gotten me killed in febuary when i first got here.

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Wayne

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I think that Harper has just earned a lot of respect from me as he doesn't have to. After all, he could stall or try to spin his way out of dealing with this issue. Mr. Harper by releasing this information for all no matter what the report says is showing exactly whetre he is coming from and the other leaders should take note. They should be as honest about their spending programs that they have been announcing lately! I may just contemplate voting for him as this is a very brave thing to do and the right thing to do as well!

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JPC

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AGAIN, another reason to give Harper a majority. Honest and upfront. For those that think we enjoy our way of life by sitting on our hands, look into a little history. Today is no different than in the past. You don't remain safe by taking police off the streets and you don't enforce the integrity of your way of life by keeping your soldiers at home when it is threatened. On top of that, let's not forget the immense work that the C.F. is doing in not only preserving our security in Canada but in bringing the Afghan people out from years of poverty and oppression. The majority of Afghan's want us there let us not forget.

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Mike

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The Conservatives did not start the war; the liberals did. Now it's the conservatives who are getting beat by a war they inherited. The afghan war is for a good cause - the extermination of terrorists, taliban and al 'qaeda. We have our and the worlds best interest restoring democracy to afghanistan with our neighbour usa. iraq was a good war to stay clear from and we have. conservatives have set a time to withdraw from combat...No party wants war. FYI i'm not for the conservatives. I'm for the ndp but don't share their stance on the war.

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Jean

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What's most interesting is the type of question that will be answered....is this material costs, transportation, political trips, support (cooks, admin), etc etc etc! I'm extremely suspicious about "lump sum" reports.

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Prowlax (Ottawa)

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Sure, let's all vote Liberal and go back to la-la land and put our heads back in the sand until the Taliban hit us again over here. Good plan folks. Will Liberals ever face reality?? Avoiding the issue, closing your eyes and keeping your fingers crossed just doesn't work. Simply wishing the problem away doesn't work folks. Wake up and smell the coffee. It's time for action both in fighting terrorism and crime here at home. The Liberals have no clue on how to do either. The NDP? God I wish I knew what Jack Layton and his wife were smoking. Mr. Harper appears to be the only Leader (notice the capital "L") that has a good grasp of both problems and how to address them. He needs a majority to get the proper things done.

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Rick in Edmonton

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Canada's mission in Afghanistan is not that different now than it was in Europe in 1917...bring peace and stability to an oppressed people. The human cost to Canada of WW1? 66000 soldiers. Most of the oppostion to the current mission is coming from people who have ZERO appreciation for the past and present effots of our Canadian military in conflicts around the world. Their oppostion is an affront to the legacy of our past veterans as well as to those brave men and women fighting for peace and freedom in the present day. To all of those who oppose the Canadian mission in Afghanistan: I challenge each and every one of you to explain to an Afghani woman or child why you think the way you do.

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Pickley

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...Don't forget that it was the Liberals under Martin that put our Canadian soldiers into a combat role in Afghanistan. The motion to extend the mission was freely debated upon in Parliment and the Liberals had their chance to vote against it and to bring the troops home but agreed to keep the troops there until 2011. In a minority government nothing is done soley by the governing party.

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Rob

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Morons!!!! The Liberals sent us to this war!! In green uniforms, in desert combat!! Lacking everything from flashlights to armor transport, and air lift!! They even had the choice on which area...we could have gone to quieter Northern areas....but the Libs sent us to Kandahar! The PCs have been trying to equip our boys to keep them alive, our taxpayers boys! Those boys also pay taxes! Stop using this war as a possible platform, unless you have something real to talk about, not the nickels and dimes. As for our homeless in Canada....there is more jobs than ever in Canada...if they get off their behinds they could have a home...let's compare them to the poor and suffering under Taliban rule. Get real!

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Edmonton John

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There is a time for war and a time for peace. When the Liberals sent our troops over to support the US, it was the right thing, at least politically. (I opposed it at the time, as I did the entire invasion of Afghanistas as an inappropriate response to 9/11, but that is another story.) Once the US committed themselves to the folly of the Iraq invasion, the whole tone changed, and that should have been the signal to revise our plans. Don't blame the Liberals for the current situation. That is a lame excuse. Are we to expect nothing but continued efforts by Harper and his Conservative apologists to escape responsibility? We need a new leader and a new plan, and we know we will never get the truth from Harper unless it is something he can spin to his advantage.

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Smith

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Wow! I can’t believe Harper caved on this one. We know how much he likes censorship and suppressing anything that might show he is wrong. Look at the Jaccard Report. It proves that a carbon tax will not hurt the economy as Harper claims. This is why he buried it. He ignored what was best for the country because it was bad for him politically. Look at the curious lack of documentation on the Cadman Affair. If a legitimate offer was made, there should be a paper trail. The same is true for the In & Out scandal. If they weren’t doing anything wrong, why all the secrecy and subterfuge? I think Harper realizes his record on Afghanistan could bring him down and he’s trying to convince us that he is the peace candidate. Don’t be fooled, he’s the reason we are still there.

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iskewa, ottawa

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Wow...funny how little history so many Canadians DON'T have. We can fall for the ploy of all parties and make this election about Afganistan....besides the obvious loss of life (both sides)and the financial burden taken by our government...I'm more concerned about my family, my job and our future. I really hope that this realistically small number spent on the current war does not overtake this election as well. I guess if it doesn't the Con's do have gay marriage and Quebec to get us all to fall in line. I can't believe how robotic all of our reactions are to these issues.

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barry

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interesting how so many people call this a bogus war. you baby boomer types need to wake up and discover that even you don't like it, the world around us changes. when people blow up buildings on north american soil we need to take notice and go, 'oh man, that could be us'. hence we go to the source of the issue and try to make an impact on a region to prevent future attacks on our future and safety. we can't peacekeep in every situation nor can we stay at home in our oversized suburban dwellings mocking tax expenditures. at the end of the day taxes go up anyways not because of wars but because (one of the causes) of demographic shifts. Old people need more health care and happen to be a large portion of the population who used to be taxpayers..... so at the end of the day people 30 and under will be screwed not from wars or bogus govts but by their own people growing old and not having enough babies. ha....

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MHR

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...You know what? If Stephen Harper was Prime Minister at that time we would not only be in Afghanistan, we would be also in Iraq too with full deployment. Imagine if he was Prime Minister with a Majority government and sent us to Iraq? That would destory our stance internationally and our budget would be devasted because our debt would skyrocket with debt being spent on Iraq and other countries. Thank god that it was a Liberal with a Majority at that time! Otherwise we would be in recession and that is FOR SURE!

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Harry

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To those conservatives who are now sayingthat the Liberals started the war. I think I remember something happened on September 11 2001 that led to the war. Our country sent our brave men and women in harms way to find and take care of Bin laden and the Taliban regime that supported him. I supported the Liberal decision then and the one that kept us out of Iraq, which by the way MR. Harper wanted Canada to take part in. Our troops deserve our undying support and praise for what they have done but do they stay there for ever?

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JKP Ontario

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This is a war we are involved in, and only because Canadians have not known war for generations are we not supportive. Canada needs a strong military to stand up and fight when needed around the world, and peace keepers where peace can be maintained. In this case peace is the goal and it's taking military to fight for peace. Are we going to talk money, cost, and over runs on cost to support our troops who are putting life and limb on the line in the search for peace to the Afgan population who most of them want peace, or do we duck and run back to our safety of Canada. This is from a Canadian who has a family member soldier in Afganistan right now.

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Nicole

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Harper is the one who is gonna cut and run. He even made it part of his re-election platform...' I believe the extension to 2011 was approved by Parliament (one of the few times Liberals actually voted on something). All that Stephen Harper is doing is pointing out the facts. You people are never satisfied. He wants to stay you call him a war monger, he accepts the will of Parliament and says we will withdraw you say he's running. Frankly, Stephen Harper has been the only politician in a long while to actually give the military the respect and tools they deserve. These brave men and women volunteer to fight for our freedoms and the Liberals send them in there with pea-shooters. Ridiculous. Every penny spent was necessary and better spent than going to Liberal Adscammers with their little brown envelopes.

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Eddie Grant

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As I understand it, the Liberal government, with the support of the Conservatives, committed us to putting troops in Afghanistan to help push the Taliban out of control and to facilitate the establishment of a stable local government. The alternatives would be to allow the Taliban to re-establish their control of Afghanistan which could once again become a base from which to launch terrorist attacks. Personally, I would rather that we fight them over there than to allow them to bring the fight over here again, as they did with the World Trade Centre attack. How much is that worth to us?

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lanceanders

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As has been noted several times here, the Liberals agreed to the combat mission in Afghanistan and also supported, in fact proposed the end to the combat misson by 2011. As far as Iraq goes, we didn't enter that war so your ridiculous attempts to continue with your fear mongering strategy based on hypothetical non issues do nothing but emphasize the dream world that seems to prevail with many (not all) left wing sympathisers. Lets try to stay focussed on RELEVANT FACTS rather than spewing biased speculation and twisted versions of reality.

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Sherry

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Vote Liberal???You fool - it was the Liberals who sent us over there in the first place? Before you say things you obviously hae no clue about you should do some digging. I will also tell you that many people through access to info get this info - it's not held back. Go ahead and back someone like Dion - you seem to forget what the Liberals have done over the years. Here's the truth - it DOESN'T matter who's in power, people will NOT be happy, Canadians WILL complain and people WILL continue to be taken in by the Dions and Laytons of the world. And I USED to be Liberal - until I took off my sunglasses and let the blood go to my head so that I could think for a change!

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Some facts for Liberal supporters

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Liberalism has affected the way some of their supporters actually think. These expensive spending promises by Mr. Dion clearly illustrate he doesn't have a grip on economics and fiscal responsibility. It is easy to promise like the Liberals did when they said they would scrap the GST then didn't. Liberal Promise made, Promise broken. Liberals are KNOWN for breaking their election promises. Liberals are KNOWN for making costly outlandish promises to suck in voters. Liberals are KNOWN for tax and spend policies. Liberals are KNOWN for running deficits (Pierre Trudeau started deficits) Same old same old folks...

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john

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@barry yes it is a bogus war. If you did some research about this 'war' other than what is jammed down our throats by the right wing American government you could see this. You would know that the american's cut off food aid to thousands of afgans before the 'buildings blew up in north america', essentially starving them all to death. You would also know that the Taliban was blocking the development of an OIL pipeline through Afghanistan. They were planning on attacking Afghanistan looong before 9/11. So ya, it's a bogus war.

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Lost Cause

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To Prowlux, who said "Sure, let's all vote Liberal and go back to la-la land and put our heads back in the sand until the Taliban hit us again over here. Good plan folks. Will Liberals ever face reality??" Did the Taliban hit us over here before? Where and when did this happen?

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Jay W

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So...Harper is running on something he only partially had anything to do with. Great. He's been doing that for the last 2+ years. Taking credit for liberal programs. "Every penny spent was necessary and better spent than going to Liberal Adscammers with their little brown envelopes" Ask Mr Harper why he hasn't pursued the adscam issue any further. It's because there is nothing left to investigate. On top of that it's well known the cons blew that controversay way out of proportion. Besides, the guys who profited from adscam are all well known conservatives btw. ...I see no outrage over money transfers which are part of the current in and out scandal. That's also a taxpayer rip off...

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Mac

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Mr. Harper has taken the right step. Mr. Dion (and others)are making this an issue and it is despicable that the troops - the Afghanistan Mission - is even being discussed during the election. The lives we have lost and the dedication of those who have been, are and will be there are being used as pawns. Mr. Dion you and your gang of Liberals put these dedicated people in Afghanistan - and it is YOU not Mr Harper that is accountable !

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CDM

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To all you pro Liberal anti Harper types commenting here. At least try and educate yourself before ranting and making fools of yourselves. The amount of voting done in ignorance by people like you is disgusting. October 2001 - Initial deployment (JTF2 & PPCLI) under Chretien 2003 - Canada in Kabul commanding ISAF 2005 - Canada to be redeployed to Kandahar by Martin May 2006 - Mission extended 2 years (Promised by Martin before he lost office and enacted by Harper) January 2008 - Mission extended to 2011 if NATO provides 1000+ troops to Kandahar. The extension was approved in a parliamentary vote, supported by the Liberal opposition.

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JD in Alberta

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To all the people that believe that this is not our war, and think that it's not our fight. Are you going to think the same way when these terrorists attack us on our own soil? It will happen, not because the Conservatives are in power or because we are neighbours with the US. They will attack us because they do not believe in the western civilization's way of life.

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cosmo

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Thank you "Nick in Ottawa" for actually posting the facts, not the "Peacekeeping" fantasy that has permeated many Canadians' thinking. Obviously our schools are doing an absolutely TERRIBLE job of educating Canadians as to the FACTS about our history. And as for the rest of the whining NDP and Libs out there, the LIBERALS sent our troops to Afghanistan, NOT the Conservatives!!! And this was a United Nations sanctioned action, unlike the war in IRAQ. All the Harper government has done is to provide the troops with the supplies they need - I'm not sure what the Liberals were thinking when they sent a VERY poorly equipped Canadian contingent over to Afghanistan. (Perhaps they thought the soldiers would "talk" the terrorists into peace?)If you want to be outraged, be outraged at that FACT. If people are going to post on the website, either post the facts or "button up".

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Pete in Calgary

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Why is this war any different than any other war Canada has fought? The last Canadian war was the War of 1812. WW1, WW2 and the Korean Conflict was not our problem either. Like the old proverb says, "Evil triumphs when good people do nothing." Maybe if we had helped Afghanistan rebuild after the Soviet conflict when they fought our battle, things would be a lot different now.

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danh

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"Layton was next with a multibillion-dollar national child-care plan. He promised to create 150,000 daycare spaces in the first year of an NDP government, at a cost of $1.4 billion -- on top of current programs." Umm, so where does that money come from?

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Ken - Calgary

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Funny how you Neo-CONs keep reminding us that the Liberals were the ones who sent the troops into Afghanistan, yet you fail to realize that Harper's FIRST MOVE as a PM was stepping our troops up to ACTIVE COMBAT, whereas the Liberals had us there for peacekeeping and reconstruction ONLY. You are the same Neo-CONs who keep whining about the Liberal cuts to the military, and yet you fail to realize that Stephen Harper not only voted to support the cuts to the military, but said in the house of commons that the cuts weren't going DEEP ENOUGH. You CONs SERIOUSLY need to get a grip, and get the FACTS on your Owner... oops, I meant 'leader'.

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Mike

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Im voting liberal too. harper is too unrealistic.

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