Cost of Canadian military's Mali mission $18.6 million, top soldier says
OTTAWA - The military says the total cost of providing a transport plane to aid international efforts in Mali is $18.6 million.
Maj.-Gen. Jonathan Vance told a House of Commons committee that of that cost, $11.7 million is directly related to the mission itself.
Canada had initially agreed to provide the C-17 Globemaster plane for one week to assist the French government in transporting soldiers and supplies to the West African country.
The French military launched an intervention there Jan. 11 to oust Islamist militants from the north of the country and to prevent their march south.
Canada later agreed to extend the contribution of the transport plane until the middle of February.
Since the first flight on Jan. 17, the plane has flown 13 missions and moved over 350,000 kilograms of cargo.
