The internal spending forecast notes that the tables are revised three times a year and officials note the government always has the option of adding money to the budget if cabinet decides to send the military somewhere.
But the figures are a dramatic illustration of the warnings sounded last week by Defence Minister Peter MacKay and the country‘s chief of defence staff about the coming wave of fiscal austerity.
A separate set of estimates tabled in Parliament on Monday, ahead of this spring‘s federal budget, shows the Harper government anticipates the overall defence spending will shrink in the coming year to $17.9 billion, down $2.3 billion from what was actually spent in 2011-12.