CALGARY — The father of Canada's only female soldier killed in Afghanistan says Remembrance Day is a time to celebrate the freedoms his daughter died defending.

But Tim Goddard also wants Canadians to get more involved in the debate over the Afghan mission which Canada is committed to until 2009.

Last May Captain Nichola Goddard became the 16th of 42 Canadian soldiers to die in Afghanistan.

She was killed in a Taliban ambush while directing artillery fire at enemy positions.

Nichola come to symbolize Canada's sacrifice, and her father has emerged as an eloquent spokesman for other families grappling with both grief and pride.

Tim Goddard has chastised Prime Minister Harper for restricting media access to grieving families, and expressed hope for an end to the Afghan conflict so that Nichola will not have died in vain.

He also says Canadians have a duty to be better informed about the war and the political process involved.