The , also known as the report of the Independent Panel on Canada's Future Role in Afghanistan, is a parliamentary report on the status of

Canada in the War in Afghanistan Canada's role in the Afghanistan War began in late 2001. Canada sent its first element of soldiers secretly in October 2001 from Joint Task Force 2,Maloney, S., ''Enduring the Freedom: A Rogue Historian in Afghanistan'', Potomac Books ...

. The report was transmitted in January 2008 to the

Federal government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in-C ...

by The Independent Panel on Canada's Future Role in Afghanistan. The chair of the panel was

John Manley John Paul Manley (born January 5, 1950) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the eighth deputy prime minister of Canada from 2002 to 2003. He served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Ottawa South from 1988 to 2 ...

, who was joined by

Derek Burney Derek Hudson Burney, OC (born 1939) for a time served as Canada's ambassador to the US, and was political strategist for both the government of Brian Mulroney and of Stephen Harper. He was for a time an executive or director in private industry ...

Jake Epp Arthur Jacob "Jake" Epp, (born September 1, 1939) is a Canadian executive and former politician. Life and career Born into a Mennonite family in Manitoba, Epp was a high school history teacher in Steinbach, Manitoba before entering politics. J ...

Paul Tellier Paul Mathias Tellier, (born 1939) is a Canadian businessman and former public servant and lawyer. Biography Born in Joliette, Quebec, Tellier earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Ottawa and his law degree from the University ...

, and

Pamela Wallin Pamela Wallin (born April 10, 1953) is a Canadian senator, former television journalist, and diplomat. She was appointed to the senate on January 2, 2009, where she initially sat as a Conservative. Early life and career Wallin was born in W ...

History

Approaching the upcoming expiry of Canada's NATO commitment in Afghanistan in February 2009, on October 12, 2007,

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

announced the creation of a non-partisan five-person panel that would advise the federal government on the upcoming strategy of the Canadian government in terms of Canada's involvement in Afghanistan. He announced the five-members would be:

, former ambassador to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

for

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...

;

, former conservative cabinet minister;

, former CEO of Bombardier Inc. and

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

and former clerk of the Privy Council;

, former television journalist and Canada's consul general in New York City; and

, former

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. Manley would serve as the chair of the panel. The goal of the panel was to analyze four main options for Canada's future involvement in Afghanistan: * Focus on military and police training in

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...

with the goal of creating sustainable Afghan security forces allowing for Canadian withdrawal in February 2009; * Focus on rebuilding the infrastructure of Kandahar, transitioning away from a security-focused role; * Leave Kandahar and move to another Afghan region; * Completely withdraw security forces after February 2009 excluding security for Canadian diplomats and aid workers. Harper tasked the panel with considering all available options, but expressed that Parliament would inevitably make the decision. The report was published in January 2008, and it recommended that Canada should extend their security presence in Afghanistan until "the Afghan National Army is ready to provide security in Kandahar province." However, it stressed a desire for Canada to shift to an approach that focused more on training, infrastructure-reconstruction, and diplomacy, and expressed hope for other NATO-members to provide combat relief to enable Canada to do so.

References

Canadian commissions and inquiries Afghanistan–Canada relations {{Canada-poli-stub