Liberal defence critic Denis Coderre accused Canada's top soldier of being a "prop" for the Tories after Gen. Rick Hillier described the period of budget cuts to the military that began in 1994 as the "decade of darkness."

"I'm offended today," the Quebec MP said following the speech Hillier gave Friday to a defence group in Ottawa.

"We have a chief of defence staff who spoke about 10 years of darkness. I never thought that he would become a prop to the Conservative party."

Although Hillier didn't name the Liberals specifically, he spoke of the challenges the Canadian forces still face because of budget cuts that began in 1994, when the Liberals were in power.

"Over this past one to two years, we have begun to fully realize the immense, the negative impact of the … defence expenditure reductions from 1994 and the lasting most negative legacy that they brought into effect which has to be put right."

Hillier said those cuts to resources, combined with the increase in operations conducted by the Canadian forces around the world, have led to a military that is "fragile," with some parts "on a life support system."

He said those actions have led to some "deep wounds in the department over this past, what I would call, a decade of darkness."

But Coderre challenged Hillier's assessment of the Liberal record. He said the Liberals under then prime minister Jean Chrétien faced a $48-billion annual deficit when they took office and had to act. But, he said, things turned around and Paul Martin's short-lived government had been in the process of restoring the defence budget.

He described Hillier's speech as "highly political" and "inappropriate."

"To get involved in politics, there's one way, you should run," Coderre said.

When asked by reporters about Coderre's comments, Hillier stood by his remarks. He said he is not a politician and it's his job to paint a picture about the state of the armed forces, "like it or not."

"I'm the chief of defence staff. I describe things as accurately, as clearly, as bluntly as I possibly can."

With files from the Canadian Press