Canadians serving in Afghanistan were paying close attention to Ottawa Friday as Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Afghan President Hamid Karzai addressed MPs and senators.

Watching a live feed of CTV Newsnet over the internet, Commander of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), Lt.-Col Simon Hetherington, said soldiers were encouraged by the support.

"We managed to hear the Prime Minister's speech," Hetherington told CTV Newsnet. "On behalf of my soldiers and the Canadians here, I want to just thank everyone for giving us their support."

The PRT, made up of 250 Canadians, is responsible for extending the authority of Afghanistan's government as well as rebuilding some of the nation's shattered infrastructure.

As commander of the PRT, Hetherington guides his team in their battle to shift local support away from the Taliban.

"Part of our role as the Provincial Reconstruction Team is to follow on behind the success (of our combat soldiers) and assist the people in returning home, building their communities again, and getting them back on their feet to show that the government of Afghanistan is behind them and that it's the government they need to support and not the Taliban," said Hetherington.

But Hetherington said separating the locals from the enemy is a difficult task.

"It's not like the classic war where we wear uniforms of different colours and it's easy to identify the combatants," said Hetherington. "The insurgents, the Taliban, dress like local people so it is extremely difficult for our forces to identify the enemy."

"The people of Afghanistan are the ones who are going to decide who to support in this very challenging time because it is only they who can determine who is with the government and who is an insurgent."

As Karzai extended his condolences to the families of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan, Hetherington echoed the somber tributes.

"It's tough, every Canadian soldier here feels the loss when one of our brother and sisters in uniform is injured or killed; people react in different ways," he said. "Our forces are so small that somewhere along the line somebody knows someone who's been a victim of the tragedy."

"In our camp... one (soldier) killed earlier this week was a good friend and a comrade of a team that we have with us so they were able to say a few words, we were able to grieve collectively and we were able to move on with the mission."

Moving on is part of the healing process, said Hetherington.

"That's something that's first and foremost in everyone's mind, that we want any of the sacrifices made by our fallen (soldiers) not to go in vain.  We want to have the strength to carry on the mission and that's the greatest tribute we can pay to them."