Prime Minister Mark Carney faced criticism from Conservatives on Monday after skipping Question Period while making a brief visit to a construction site in his Nepean, Ont., riding as Parliament continued to debate Canada's economic downturn.Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused Carney of avoiding scrutiny over the economy after the prime minister spent approximately 15 minutes touring the site and posing for photographs with workers instead of appearing in the House of Commons.According to a Parliamentary Press Gallery pool report, Carney shook hands with workers during the visit before leaving the manufacturing floor. Media were then asked to leave without an opportunity to question the prime minister.Poilievre said Canadians deserved answers from the government following recent economic data that he said showed Canada had entered a recession.“He’s going to let you show up and take a picture of him wearing a hard hat and carrying a hammer around pretending he’s a carpenter, but he won’t have time to take questions on how he created the only recession in the G7,” Poilievre told reporters.The Conservative leader argued that a prime minister should be present in the Commons during periods of economic uncertainty and accused Carney of avoiding accountability.“Question Period, where normally prime ministers go to answer, especially in a moment of crisis, when the economy has fallen into the only recession in the G7, you’d expect him to be there,” said Poilievre..Defence Minister David McGuinty rejected the opposition's criticism during Commons proceedings.“The Leader of the Opposition should stop running down Canada,” McGuinty said.Poilievre responded that the government's economic management, not opposition criticism, was responsible for the country's challenges.“It’s the Liberal prime minister who is running down our economy and then running away from accountability,” he said.The Conservatives also sought an emergency debate on the recession, arguing the issue warranted immediate parliamentary attention. Poilievre said Carney had failed to answer questions from either Parliament or the media since the release of the latest economic figures.“This is an emergency in the lives of people who have empty fridges, empty stomachs and empty bank accounts,” said Poilievre. “They expect the prime minister who promised he was a great economic genius to get in here and explain.”Poilievre said Carney had a responsibility to address Canadians directly and explain the government's response to the economic downturn.“It is his duty to stand up and look Canadians in the eye and explain,” he said.Commons Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia denied the Conservative request for an emergency debate.“I am not satisfied this request meets the requirements,” Scarpaleggia told the House.
