It will take at least three years before Afghanistan's corruption-plagued police can stand on its own as a legitimate force, the outgoing head of Canada's military mission in Afghanistan said Monday.

Brig.-Gen. Tim Grant speaks with CBC-TV from Afghanistan Monday.
(CBC)

"It was about three years for us to get the Afghan army to the level where they are now, and it will probably take at least that long to get the police to the level where they enjoy the confidence of the people," Brig.-Gen. Tim Grant said in an interview with CBC News from Kandahar.

Grant's comments come after his superiors in Ottawa appeared to contradict each other over whether the Afghan National Army was ready to shoulder the burden of fighting Taliban militants when Canada's current commitment to the NATO mission comes to an end in February 2009.

"The army is doing well and the army will continue to take more and more the lead of operations," Grant said. "Police are a bigger challenge."

Grant cited police officers' low pay and lack of adequate training as obstacles to the force's readiness to face the difficult circumstances of maintaining law and order in the war-torn country.

"They do need a lot of help," he said. "There's no doubt about it."

Tour of duty drawing to an end

Grant is slated to leave Afghanistan this week after a nine-month stay and will hand the command of Canadian forces in Kandahar to Brig.-Gen. Guy Laroche, who arrived at the base on Friday.

Laroche has said he hopes Afghan soldiers will take on a larger security role in Afghanistan in order to reduce Canadian casualties.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he'll only extend the mandate beyond February 2009 with the consensus of Parliament.

Canada's chief of defence staff, Gen. Rick Hillier, said over the weekend that he wasn't so sure troops would be able to hand over much of the frontline fighting to the Afghan National Army by that time. His frank assessment appeared to contradict Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor's assertion that the Afghan forces would be ready.

Sixty-six Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have died in Afghanistan since 2002.

As he prepared to return to Canada, Grant expressed frustration with having to explain the mission's importance to Canadians and having to demonstrate what their countrymen and women have accomplished.

"The focus always ends up being on casualties, attacks, on the military-security situation," he said. "In fact, where we're making the most difference is on reconstruction and development."

He cited health care as a major area the mission has improved that Canadians should be able to appreciate.

"This is a poor country, 30 years of war," he said. "It needs a lot of help to get back on track."

"If I could find the magic solution to explain to Canadians how important this is, it would make me a happy man."