Canadian Forces are on standby to help the United States deal with the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, Chief of Defence Staff General Rick Hillier announced Thursday.

Gen. Hillier said he spoke with his counterparts in the U.S., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers and commander of the U.S. Northern Command.

"Whenever there is a need ... they have but to ask and we in the Canadian Forces will have it rolling or sailing or flying southward as quickly as possible," he told reporters in Ottawa.

He also said the Disaster Assistance Response Team would be ready to respond as soon as it was needed.

"Their message back to me was very clear. Firstly it was a heartfelt thanks from their part," Hillier added.

Earlier, Prime Minister Paul Martin, blasted by critics for not reacting sooner to Hurricane Katrina, called President Bush to offer support "in any way and at any time," an official said.

Martin came under fire from some opposition MPs after he waited until late Wednesday to express Canada's condolences about the destruction caused by the hurricane.

Martin had been due to call Bush on Monday to discuss the bitter dispute over softwood lumber.

But after the hurricane struck, Canadian officials agreed with the White House that it would be inappropriate to discuss softwood lumber at this time.

"He told the President that the country stands ready to help in any way and at any time and that Canadians are quite anxious to help," said spokeswoman Melanie Gruer.

However Stockwell Day, foreign affairs critic for the Conservatives, criticized Martin for being "nowhere to be found" when the hurricane struck.

"I guess we should not be surprised with his past pattern," Stockwell told The National Post.

"He was nowhere to be found in the early days of the tsunami disaster, but he is quick to go on national television when his party is hit by the worst scandal in history," he added.

In one of his first speeches in his new post, U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins said that although Washington wants to negotiate a solution to the bitter softwood lumber trade war, now wasn't the best time for national leaders to talk about it.

"When we are facing what appears to be more and more the worst natural disaster in our country's history, many of these other issues we have been discussing suddenly pale in comparison," said Wilkins.

Senior Canadian civilian and military officials have had talks with their U.S. counterparts about offering aid, but have yet to receive a formal request for help.

A meeting scheduled for Thursday between Wilkins and Trade Minister Jim Peterson to discuss the softwood dispute was postponed "in light of the emergency situation along the Gulf Coast of the United States," a statement from Peterson's office said.

Both Canada and the United States have each won recent victories between different trade tribunals over the long-running softwood war.

Canada says its win before a NAFTA panel overrides other decisions and vowed to suspend negotiations towards a new softwood deal until the U.S. recognizes the ruling.