The country's top soldier was branded as being a "prop" for the reigning Conservatives after he depicted the 1990s as a "decade of darkness" for the military.
In a speech to a defence group on Friday, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier said the Canadian Forces dealt with troubled times from 1994 onwards when the Liberals worked to balance the federal budget with heavy budget cuts.
The Canadian Forces had only now begun to "fully realize the negative impact of the defense expenditure reduction from 1994 and the lasting, most negative, legacy that they brought into effect which has to be put right," the outspoken general told the annual meeting of the Conference of Defence Associations.
The military was deprived of money it needed for education, training, postings, equipment, fleets as the same time as it increased the number of operations, he said.
"Those actions, dollar deprived, have now led to some deep wounds in ... the Canadian Forces over this past, what I would call, a decade of darkness," Hillier said Friday.
Liberal defence critic Denis Coderre blasted Hillier's speech, saying it was inappropriate that he described the Liberal era in such a way.
Coderre defended the party's legacy, saying that the Liberals under Paul Martin proposed adding billions to the defence budget.
"We also have to understand that, when we came to power in 1993, we inherited a deficit of $40 billion and we had also to take care of some of the priorities including the quality of life of the people. So, talking today about 10 years of darkness, I don't think it's appropriate, I think it's highly political and I am very disappointed at it," Coderre told reporters.
"To get involved in politics, there is one way: You should run."
But Hillier defended his comments.
"I think there would be many people who would line up to say I'm not a politician. I don't tread in those waters," he said after his speech.
"My job as Chief of Defence staff is described clearly. And hopefully I paint a picture for Canadians, for our government, on what the state of the Armed Forces is. I have described it about three, or three-and-a-half years ago as we were in a decade of darkness with respect to what we needed to do versus we were being asked to do. And, as I said this morning, we've gone through a decades of darkness and we are starting to come out of it and like it or not that's the description of the Canadian Forces."
During his speech on Friday, Hillier also underscored the importance of bidding farewell to the troops as they head out on their missions and welcoming them back when they return.
He recounted that the first time he left for a mission, he received phone calls from friends, and his wife and two sons took him to the airport and bid him a tearful farewell.
The second time he left, however, he never heard from his friends and his sons stayed behind.
The third time he left, his wife took him to the airport and left him at the curb outside, Hillier recounted, drawing laughs.
"We've gotten a lot better since those times," he said.
Hillier cited a patriotic pep rally he attended at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in January that celebrated the military and its mission in Afghanistan before the troops departed for six months.
"We had 5,000 people out there in the worst weather that Gagetown can offer up in late January and the folks were out there, the emotion was high, premiers were out, lieutenant governors were out, the media was out and it was one of those events that was just cemented into the minds of those soldiers," Hillier said.
The message to the troops, he said, is that "you are important. We need you to do this mission and we're going to ensure that you are supported."
