Post-9/11 federal security spending balloons to $92 billion: report

OTTAWA – The federal government has pumped $92 billion into national security spending in the decade after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to a report released Wednesday.

The report done by the Rideau Institute – an independent, left-leaning Ottawa think tank – estimates that in the 2011-2012 fiscal year Canada will spend $34 billion on national security, an increase of $17 billion compared to pre-9/11 levels.

The bulk of the money was funneled to National Defence, Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Public Safety, Justice and related organizations such as the RCMP, CSIS and Canadian Border Service Agency.

David MacDonald, the economist who authored “The cost of 9/11”, says the report raises questions about whether the heightened levels of spending on national security should continue in the next decade especially considering that it is the economy not terrorism threatening Canadians.

“The numbers are staggering. It is an astronomical increase in this umbrella group of organizations,” MacDonald says. “We can argue back and forth about whether that money was or wasn’t well spent over the last decade, but I think the real question for us today is should we continue spending at this level.”

For $100 billion per decade, the federal government could have created a national daycare program or covered all the prescription drug costs of Canadians, which would provide more direct benefits than security spending, MacDonald said.

Candice Hoeppner, the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, said security threats are real and continue beyond 9/11.

“It is not something that any government can, in this day and age, ever relax or step back and say ‘We have to save a dollar, so that will be on the backs of protecting Canadians,’” she said.

Hoeppner did say the question of security costs is a valid one, and that the government will be reviewing all the security programs as part of its strategic review to reduce the deficit.

“If there is any fat in any of the programs that is certainly something that will be cut back,” she said.

Liberal leader Bob Rae said while the number is large, it is not surprising considering it includes the Afghanistan war and military expenditures that were already planned.

“The key thing is to ensure that what is being done is effective,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “We also think there needs to be a real assessment as to how successful security efforts are.”