Libya mission has cost Canada $26M

Canada's military mission in Libya has cost $26 million and the price tag could more than double if it's extended until the fall, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said during a NATO summit in Brussels.

The cost covers fuel for Canada's fighter planes and patrol aircraft taking part in the NATO operation, and includes the more than 300 laser-guided bombs Canadian pilots have dropped on targets in Libya from March 19 to June 2, MacKay said at the start of a two-day meeting of alliance defence ministers.

"Together with our international allies, we have steadily and systematically reduced the ability of the Gadhafi regime to threaten his own population with violence," he told a news conference the same day NATO airstrikes rattled the Libyan capital with eight clusters of bombing runs believed to have targeted the outskirts of Tripoli.

Canada's cost figures were announced a day after NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen urged allies to step up their participation in the mission during the four-month-old rebel uprising to oust Moammar Gadhafi after four decades in power.

Fogh Rasmussen says the two-day meeting at NATO's Brussels headquarters will aim to push for broader participation by countries in the 28-nation alliance. He also wants more countries to share the costs and risks involved in the campaign.

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NATO is not publicly releasing figures on how many nations are involved in the strikes, but it is thought to be around 17.

MacKay told a news conference that Parliament will be asked to vote next week on whether to extend the mission until the end of September, a move that would push the total cost of the deployment to roughly $60 million.

"Right now, we're looking to extend this mission to mirror the NATO effort and ensure that Canada continues to contribute in a meaningful way, which we are," MacKay said.

The NDP's defence critic questioned the cost estimate and suggested that an objective analysis may be in order.

"The last time we had an analysis done, for example on Afghanistan, we got very considerably different numbers from the parliamentary budget officer than we got from the government — and perhaps that's in order here," said Jack Harris.

Opposition MPs have also questioned the nature of the operation, wondering if what is known as "mission creep" is setting in. The Harper government has so far ruled out the use of ground troops.

"Will the government confirm that our mandate remains unchanged, and that Canada's engagement does not include effecting regime change in Libya by force?" Harris asked Thursday in the Commons.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird dismissed the regime change question, saying the motion introduced next week would be a renewal of the current mandate, "to protect civilians and ... to continue with the current military mission we sought approval from Parliament for."

A release from MacKay's office noted that the Canadian Forces have 650 personnel on Operation Mobile. Canadian fighter aircraft have flown over 1,750 hours, maritime patrol aircraft have flown over 530 hours and HMCS Charlottetown, with a Sea King aboard, continues to patrol the central Mediterranean Sea.

Canada's cost estimate was revealed just as a new report suggested U.S. costs in Libya are soaring.

A report in the Financial Times suggested that U.S. military costs in Libya are expected to greatly exceed the initial Pentagon estimate of $750 million US.

The report cites a Pentagon memo, which says that U.S. operations in Libya had cost $664 million US by mid-May.

According to the Financial Times report, the memo suggests that U.S. costs for the Libya mission are around $2 million US a day.

Libya is 'victim' of aggression: diplomat

Also Thursday, in Geneva at a UN Human Rights Council meeting, Gadhafi's government denied accusations that Libyan government forces committed crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Libyan diplomat Mustafa Shaban said the government is "the victim of a widespread aggression," and blamed the media, opposition, and African and foreign mercenaries for human rights violations and even "acts of cannibalism."

Shaban told the Human Rights Council that Gadhafi's government would turn over evidence it has obtained.

The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court said Wednesday he is investigating whether Gadhafi provided Viagra to Libyan soldiers to promote rape. And a UN panel said last week its investigators found evidence that government forces committed murder, torture and sexual abuses.

Meanwhile, the country's main opposition group appealed Thursday to senior officials from the more than 30-member coalition meeting in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, for urgent infusions of cash from foreign nations to help support the rebellion against Gadhafi. The coalition consists of countries supporting the rebellion against Gadhafi.

At Thursday's meeting in the United Arab Emirates, donors pledged more than $1.3 billion US to help support Libya's main opposition group. Italy and France offered a combined $1.02 billion to Libya's Transitional National Council, while Kuwait and Qatar promised a combined $280 million to a fund set up to provide transparent assistance to the opposition.

The pledges came as council members appealed for urgent infusions of cash to keep from going broke. The council is trying to establish an alternative government to take over after Gadhafi.

Libya's opposition Finance Minister Ali Tarhouni told the meeting, being held to prepare for the post-Gadhafi era in Libya, that the country would be a "total failure" if financial assistance was not forthcoming.

"Our people are dying," he told reporters on the sidelines of the conference. "It's been almost four months now and nothing has materialized so far. Our message to our friends is that I hope that they walk the walk."