Thank you.
I actually can't give you those precise timelines, Mr. Harris. I'd have to track back and see. But you asked about how this overall transition happened. I think those who have been following the issue will know that training, capacity-building, and Afghan ownership of the issue have been very high on the agenda from the outset. Certainly as far back as at least 18 months or two years ago, President Karzai made it very clear that he was establishing timetables with international partners, including ISAF, to make sure there was a transition. In order for that transition to happen, to enable the Afghans to take on their security responsibilities, there was a need for trainers.
So it was in that context that Canada and all of the ISAF partners considered what they could do. Certainly, as the general has said, the combat mission very clearly has come to an end. We have finished that. But there was an enduring need to do capacity-building, and that's what was considered for an ongoing Canadian contribution on the military side.