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Foreword

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In accordance with the motion passed by the House of Commons on March 13, 2008, we are honoured to place before Parliament this eighth quarterly report on Canada’s engagement in Afghanistan. This report addresses the period from January 1 to March 31, 2010.

Canada is a committed participant in a major effort undertaken by more than 60 nations and international organizations to assist the Afghan people with developing a stable, more secure and democratic country. This international coalition, together with the ongoing partnership with the Government of Afghanistan, is pivotal to enabling the provision of humanitarian aid and the development of basic services in a country so desperately needing both.

In December 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that a major surge of U.S. military and civilian personnel would take place in Afghanistan throughout 2010. Canada welcomes this commitment from our largest coalition partner. This quarterly report describes the impact of the U.S. surge on Canada’s engagement in Afghanistan, focusing in particular on those opportunities and challenges that arise as the international community collaboratively endeavours to build an environment of stability and sustainability in Afghan security, governance and development.

It is evident that, in this quarter, Afghanistan’s political environment remained unsettled. We are hopeful that President Hamid Karzai will stand by the important commitments made at the London Conference of January 28, and take measures to strengthen the credibility of the 2010 parliamentary elections, while addressing ongoing concerns about corruption.

One of Canada’s key priorities in Afghanistan is to enable the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) in Kandahar to sustain a more secure environment, and promote law and order. Discussions during the March 29-30 meeting of G8 foreign ministers focused in part on security issues at the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. In April, Canada announced that up to 90 additional Canadian Forces personnel will be deployed to Afghanistan to support ANSF training, further enhancing Afghan capacity to assume responsibility for their own security as Canada prepares for the drawdown of our military mission in 2011.

We commend the bravery and dedication of all our Canadian Forces and civilian personnel who work tirelessly under extremely difficult and dangerous conditions in Afghanistan. On behalf of all Canadians, we honour the memory of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in this service, and their families.

Our next report will cover the period April 1 to June 30, 2010.

The Honourable Lawrence Cannon
Minister of Foreign Affairs