Canada in the War in Afghanistan
[2] Canada's role in the Afghan conflict grew in 2006 when Canadian troops relieved US forces in Kandahar province, taking command of the multinational brigade in the region during a major Taliban offensive.
Major reconstruction projects included the Dahla Dam and irrigation system, improvement of roads and bridges, construction of schools, and immunization programs.
In peacekeeping missions in Bosnia, Somalia, and Haiti, Canadian and NATO troops have sought to deepen their cooperation with local and international development organizations, working together towards reconstruction goals.
Eggleton summed up the dominant thinking in the government at the time: "Any Canadian military deployment to Afghanistan may well be similar to a situation in Eritrea and Ethiopia where we went in on the first wave, we helped establish the stabilization, the basis for ongoing peace support operations that would come after ... but then turned it over to somebody else.
General Ray Henault, Chief of the Defence Staff, issued preliminary orders to several CAF units as Operation Apollo was established.
In March, three Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) snipers fought alongside US Army units during Operation Anaconda.
Canada dubbed this Operation Athena and a 1,900-strong Canadian task force provided assistance for improving civilian infrastructure, such as well-digging and repair of local buildings.
Foreign Affairs Canada stated that the commitment would employ a "whole of government approach", in which the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), utilizing personnel from the military, Foreign Affairs, the Canadian International Development Agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), would provide a dual role of security as well as reconstruction of the country and political structure.
The fighting of Operation Medusa led to a second, fiercer Battle of Panjwai in which daily gun-battles, ambushes, and mortar and rocket attacks targeted the Canadian troops.
An estimated 1,500 to 2,000 Taliban fighters were reluctant to give up the area, and after being surrounded by the Canadian Forces, they dug in and fought a conventional style battle.
During the first week of the operation, massive Canadian artillery and tank barrages were carried out in a successful attempt to clear pockets of Taliban resistance.
The focus was on intimately working with the Afghan army, police and civil administration to hold cleared areas rather than subsequently lose them to returning Taliban, as had previously occurred throughout the south and east.
On 13 March 2008, the Harper Conservative government's motion to extend the military mission past February 2009 into 2011 was approved in a parliamentary vote with the support of the Liberal opposition.
These units were introduced by the US government to support reconstruction efforts in unstable states, performing duties ranging from humanitarian work to the training of police and the military.
[39] By 2007, the Canadian effort to rebuild Kandahar was following the National Solidarity Program (NSP), a strategy to empower local village councils, shifting outlooks from essential self-preservation to community governance.
[41] This required much time and patience by KPRT, earning trust, with power gradually transitioning "from drug lords and Taliban chieftains back to Afghans".
[42] The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) focused on improving irrigation systems during a ten-year drought, allowing farmers to open unused fields and radically increase crop production.
[46] The NSP also saw tremendous progression in the Afghan government, with over 16,000 community development councils elected, prioritizing projects that suit local needs.
Opinion amongst pundits and academics was generally divided along ideological lines, with left-leaning media outlets and think-tanks being against the war, and right-leaning publications and institutes being supportive.
[64] A grassroots phenomenon known as the Highway of Heroes that started in 2006 saw hundreds of local residents gathering along bridges to salute soldiers' remains travelling between CFB Trenton and the Coroner's office in Toronto.
Canada suffered the third-highest absolute number of deaths of any nation among the foreign military participants, and one of the highest casualties per capita of coalition members since the beginning of the war.
[75] From the beginning of the war in 2002 until 2009, the Canadian Forces had no heavy-lift helicopter for supplying forward operating bases (FOB) and had to do road convoys, which were regularly the target of IEDs.
The numbers of decorations being awarded increased when Canadian forces took over responsibility for Kandahar Province in 2006 and confronted an insurgency that was determined to regain control of the Pashtun heartland.
[83] Sergeant Michael Thomas Victor Denine, PPCLI, was awarded the Medal of Military Valour for his actions as part of Operation Archer.
[83] On 13 July, during Operation Archer, Private Jason Lamont, PPCLI, ran across open ground through concentrated enemy fire in order to deliver first aid to a wounded comrade, for which he was also awarded the Medal of Military Valour.
He repeatedly exposed himself to intense fire while leading C Company, 1 PPCLI Battle Group, on foot, to assault heavily defended enemy positions.
Assigned as liaison officer with US Special Forces in Afghanistan during the battle at Sperwan Ghar, 5–12 September 2006, Prohar operated as the rear machine gunner on the battalion commander's vehicle.
In 2021, a campaign was launched to award the first Canadian Victoria Cross, and focused on upgrading Private Larochelle's SMV to the VC, but as of 2024 the nomination has been denied.
According to the "detention review synopsis" filed by the crown prosecutor, Afghan soldiers found a man whose wounds "appeared too severe for any type of treatment in situ" and disarmed him.
I don't believe it's backed up by fact and what we have to deal with in a parliamentary hearing, as we do in a court of law, or another judicial or public inquiry, is evidence that can be substantiated".
