diff --git a/services/syncbase/vsync/clock.go b/services/syncbase/vsync/clock.go
index 96b904f..7598895 100644
--- a/services/syncbase/vsync/clock.go
+++ b/services/syncbase/vsync/clock.go
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@
 // syncVClock syncs the local Syncbase vclock with peer's Syncbase vclock.
 // Works by treating the peer as an NTP server, obtaining a single sample, and
 // then updating the local VClockData as appropriate.
-func (s *syncService) syncVClock(ctx *context.T, peer connInfo) error {
+func (s *syncService) syncVClock(ctxIn *context.T, peer connInfo) error {
 	vlog.VI(2).Infof("sync: syncVClock: begin: contacting peer %v", peer)
 	defer vlog.VI(2).Infof("sync: syncVClock: end: contacting peer %v", peer)
 
@@ -73,6 +73,9 @@
 		return err
 	}
 
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(ctxIn)
+	defer cancel()
+
 	// TODO(sadovsky): Propagate the returned connInfo back to syncer so that we
 	// leverage what we learned here about available mount tables and endpoints
 	// when we continue on to the next initiation phase.
diff --git a/services/syncbase/vsync/initiator.go b/services/syncbase/vsync/initiator.go
index c49f428..1e42c4d 100644
--- a/services/syncbase/vsync/initiator.go
+++ b/services/syncbase/vsync/initiator.go
@@ -1258,6 +1258,8 @@
 	return updPeer, nil, verror.New(interfaces.ErrConnFail, ctx, "couldn't connect to peer", updPeer.relName, updPeer.addrs)
 }
 
+// runRemoteOp runs the remoteOp on the server specified by absName.
+// It is the caller's responsibility to cancel the ctx argument.
 func runRemoteOp(ctxIn *context.T, absName string, op remoteOp) (interface{}, error) {
 	vlog.VI(4).Infof("sync: runRemoteOp: begin for %v", absName)
 
@@ -1280,9 +1282,6 @@
 		err = verror.New(interfaces.ErrConnFail, ctx, "couldn't connect to peer", absName)
 	}
 
-	// When the RPC is successful, cancelling the parent context will take
-	// care of cancelling the child context. When the err is non-nil, we
-	// cancel the context here.
 	cancel()
 	return nil, err
 }