Defence Minister Peter MacKay diverted blame from himself to the
military on Tuesday for being behind a decision to pay Canadian soldiers
in northern Afghanistan less danger pay.
But opposition MPs are still questioning why MacKay doesn’t intervene to overrule the brass.
Opposition MPs kept up the pressure on the defence minister,
questioning why Canadian troops serving in Mazar-i-Sharif are receiving
less danger pay than other Canadian soldiers in that country.
But MacKay said neither he nor the Conservative government is to blame.
“It was as a result of a recommendation, a direction not taken by me,
not taken by the government but taken upon the recommendation made,
including (by) members of the armed forces themselves,” he said in the
House of Commons.
But NDP defence critic Jack Harris said MacKay’s answer is
ridiculous, considering he is supposed to be in charge of the
department. “He seems more interested in deflecting blame from himself
than doing something about the problem,” said Harris. “This is something
he doesn’t seem to be able to or willing to do something about.”
In the Commons, MacKay accused Harris and the NDP of not supporting
the Canadian Forces. He has also accused the Liberals of not supporting
the troops, when that party’s MPs asked questions about the danger pay.
Such accusations by MacKay are common when he can’t answer a question or
when embarrassing issues are raised about the government, opposition
party officials point out.
On Monday, MacKay’s office issued a statement on the danger pay
issue, noting that “Our government will be asking department officials
to re-examine their decision.”
Just hours after Postmedia News reported Canadian soldiers in
northern Afghanistan were being forced to pay back danger pay they had
previously been awarded, MacKay stepped in Monday to reverse that order.
But MacKay’s intervention did not address the fact that the soldiers in
the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif were still getting a lower amount
of danger pay than those Canadian soldiers in Kabul.
Some of the soldiers contacted Postmedia News to complain not only
about the original rollback but the fact they were receiving less danger
pay.
Monday’s announcement is the second time in this month that the
Conservative government, stung by a public backlash over attempts to cut
danger pay for Afghan troops, has reversed course, at least partially.
Northern Afghanistan has been relatively peaceful but over the last
several years it has seen an increase in violence. In 2012 a suicide
bomber killed a high-profile anti-Taliban politician and 22 other guests
at a wedding reception.
In February, gunmen in Mazar-i-Sharif tried to assassinate a member
of the Iranian consulate. In 2011, seven United Nations workers were
killed in an attack in the city.
About 30 Canadian soldiers are in Mazar-i-Sharif, involved in
training Afghan forces. Around 100 soldiers have worked at that location
between June 1, 2012 and Feb. 3, 2013.
Neither MacKay nor Prime Minister Stephen Harper have explained why
Canadian soldiers in Mazar-i-Sharif are getting a lesser amount of
danger pay.
Opposition MPs say MacKay would have been told days in advance that
in both this and an earlier case, the news media were asking questions
about the danger pay cuts. But he waited to see public reaction to the
news reports before doing anything, said Liberal defence critic John
McKay.
The Defence Department has not provided details on what the rates of
hazard and hardship pay were for Mazar-i-Sharif or Kabul-based soldiers.
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