Canada's top soldier says handing over front-line fighting duties to Afghan soldiers by February will prove to be a "significant challenge."

Gen. Rick Hillier told CTV's Question Period that it's unlikely Canada's frontline presence will be scaled back because of the significant time commitment needed to train Afghan forces to take over security in the country.

Hillier effectively downplayed comments by Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, who said last week on Question Period that by the time the 22nd Regiment takes over the mission in Afghanistan in August, the Canadian military will be shifting from combat to the classroom. And Afghan soldiers would take up the bulk of the fighting around Kandahar.

"We'd like to see that it was in that position to be able to do so by next February, but that would be certainly a significant challenge for them," said Hillier.

"We still don't have all the troops in the South, (but) we have a lot more than we did before. More are coming quite literally this week and more in the fall. But we've got a large training role to work to help them meet so they can be ready for operations, and whether that's February or March, it's hard to tell one specific date. We're working very hard at it because that's what we set out from the start."

A small contingent from the 22nd Regiment, known as the Van Doos, began arriving in Kandahar earlier in the month. By August, there will be about 2,500 new Canadian soldiers on the ground -- 2,330 from Quebec.

O'Connor said the Van Doos will be training up to four or five battalions of the Afghan army -- about 3,000 soldiers.

Hillier contends Afghanistan is a volatile country with a need for Canadian troops to continue the role of securing the nation so the development accomplished doesn't regress.

"We are in the fight. There are direct combat actions required to keep the Taliban from stopping the progress in southern Afghanistan and tearing the country further apart," Hillier said.

'Frustrated' over slow progress

Hillier also took a hard line on Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government saying that rampant corruption has proven to be frustrating for Canadian Forces.

"All engaged with the mission on any level have been frustrated by the slow progress on building an effective government that can efficiently deliver the kinds of programs that people back here in Canada take for granted and to do it without corruption, which is significant and does detract from the mission," Hillier said.

"More work needs to go into helping President Karzai build the right kind of honest government that can actually do the job for Afghans. And we've got a short period of time to be able to do that kind of thing."

The Conservative government has been under pressure to make clearer its exit strategy from the war-torn nation.

"This government should speak with clarity," Liberal defence critic Ujjal Dosanjh told CTV News on Sunday. "It's the PM's responsibility. If the minister isn't in charge then the PM needs to put him in charge -- or put somebody else in charge."

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

With Canada's mission set to end in February 2009, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he would only extend Canada's combat commitment with the consensus of Parliament.

But that appears unlikely to happen with the NDP and Bloc Quebecois dead set against any extension, and the Liberals wanting the combat mission to end on schedule.

Hillier said in a democracy, a chief of defence staff takes orders from the Government of Canada and the fact that missions change is par for the course.

"We've been in Kandahar before. We were in Kabul before. And then we had a period of low time and then (we were) back in Kandahar. So the mission can change. But I, as the Chief of Defence Staff, will take my direction, obviously, from the prime minister."

Hillier added that Minister O'Connor has done "all the things necessary" to ensure Canadian soldiers were executing their duties as successfully as possible. He said soldiers, however, are frustrated that Canadians aren't seeing and understanding the progress occurring in southern Afghanistan in spite of the challenges posed by insurgents.

"All they've seen back here are, you know, detainees, casualties and that kind of thing, and all the great things that have been occurring just don't seem to be seen back here in this country," said Hillier.

"When people do hear about them, when they see them, we find that 75 per cent or more of people who know about it support the mission."

With a report from CTV parliamentary correspondent Graham Richardson in Ottawa