As guest speaker and honoured guest, Major-General Tim Grant of the Canadian Armed Forces gave a descriptive and generally optimistic account of progress in Afghanistan. He discussed one of the current roles of Canadian forces that involved training and assisting in coordinating local Afghan police units. Grant reiterated that the local continue to play the lead role in providing security against the Taliban. He stressed the importance of payment methods to the Afghan police, and how critical it was to ensure they were properly compensated to avoid financial influence of local Taliban.

The Major-General further elaborated on the security situation in Afghanistan. As it becomes increasingly controlled in various areas, the roles of Canadian forces have also been shifted to providing a more active role in peace building and reconstruction of infrastructure. An interesting question that General Grant brought to light was how long Canadian forces should remain in Afghanistan, until they are no longer welcome by locals. He also answered a variety of thought-provoking questions from the audience that addressed numerous concerns. One being, what parameters should be used to judge success by the Canadian forces? As well, are timelines at all realistic in military matters, or should the situation be assessed on a case by case basis?

In sum, it was evident how passionate and dedicated Major-General Grant and our Canadian Forces were to provide peace and stability. Following the culmination of his speech and responses to our questions, a general consensus emerged throughout the audience that afternoon. Despite any domestic debate about our role in Afghanistan, a “thank you” was necessary to any and all troops that have served abroad on behalf of all Canadians.

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