Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. And I will be brief.
Mr. Chair, members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to be here this afternoon.
As Minister Cannon has indicated, making and measuring progress in the midst of conflict is not an easy task, but Canada continues to deliver on its commitment to help Afghans rebuild their country as a stable, democratic and self- sufficient society.
Following the key recommendations of the Manley panel, the Afghanistan task force within the Privy Council Office was formed in 2008 to help coordinate and ensure the effectiveness of Canada's efforts in Afghanistan.
I am privileged to work on a daily basis with dedicated colleagues from across government on this important Canadian and international priority.
As I heard, you want to speak about the seventh quarterly report. The quarterly reports are really a whole-of-government effort, and I thought it would be appropriate to have representatives from the whole-of-government team here to join me. It really is the nature of our work to work in collaboration. The degree to which so many different departments and agencies are working hand-in-glove, in Ottawa and especially on the ground in Afghanistan in what really can be called “one mission and one team”, is unprecedented, especially given the conditions under which our colleagues in Afghanistan work.
In keeping with this whole-of-government approach, we have here a representative team of the folks both in Canada and on the ground in Afghanistan who are working on this whole-of-government effort and have contributed to the quarterly reports.
Thank you very much.
We welcome your questions.