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But buried in a report tabled in the House of Commons this week are Defence Department figures pegging the full cost of the mission at more than $347.5-million.

Even taking into account the Defence Department’s controversial practice of only reporting “incremental costs” — those deemed to be above and beyond normal operating expenses — the mission still came in at $100 million, or almost twice what MacKay claimed.

The minister’s office did not respond to questions by time of press.

The Conservative government and Defence Department have been under fire in the past few weeks for using incremental costs instead of full costs when reporting the price Canada will pay for the F-35 stealth fighter — a difference of $10-billion.

By the same token, some observers were questioning the true cost of the Libya mission last year.

The Defence Department has admitted it dropped $25-million in bombs during the mission, and some found it difficult to understand how deploying 11 planes and a frigate to the Mediterranean for seven months cost roughly the same amount.

Steve Staples, president of the Rideau Institute, the Ottawa-based think tank that discovered the Defence Department figures, alleged that the discrepancy is yet another example of MacKay and the military trying to hide the truth.

“Just like the F-35, Minister MacKay has been caught lowballing costs and minimizing overspending in his department, to the point now where I think a lot of Canadians are questioning his credibility and whether we can continue to believe his funny numbers,” Staples said.