Conservative ethics critic Michael Barrett is calling out the Liberal leadership frontrunner Mark Carney for “dodging accountability” by not answering media questions as criticisms mount about his misrepresentation of his record at Brookfield.
Barrett was back on Parliament Hill two days after accusing Carney of lying about not having anything to do with the investment firm he chaired, voting unanimously to move its office from Toronto to New York City to increase profit.
Conservatives criticized Carney for urging stakeholders to move Brookfield Asset Management to New York despite U.S. President Donald Trump threatening Canada with tariffs.
In a media statement, a Carney spokesperson didn’t address the factual issue but simply accused the Tories of emulating Trump and vowed to fight the tariffs.
“Pierre Poilievre continues to pull from Donald Trump’s playbook with empty and misleading slogans,” the statement read. “While Pierre continues to think about Mark, Mark will continue to focus on his real plan to build our economy and stand up for Canadian workers against President Trump’s threats.”
Barrett was back on Parliament Hill Friday, pointing out that Carney has refused to answer questions from various media outlets on the matter and other issues, including releasing an ethics disclosure before becoming Canada’s next prime minister.
Barrett said a statement from a “junior staffer” of Carney’s team was not enough from someone wishing to become Canada’s next prime minister.
“That’s not sufficient from someone who is barely a week away from potentially assuming the office of prime minister,” he said Friday in Ottawa. “He refuses to come to Parliament Hill and have a conversation with (reporters), but this lie raises questions about his other claims.”
Barrett noted that Carney has also refused to answer questions from reporters about a claim that he helped balance the budget with then-finance minister Paul Martin in 1997-1998.
“Mark Carney wasn’t in the country at the time. He became a federal bureaucrat in 2004, several years later,” Barrett said. “So that timeline doesn’t add up. He needs to come before Canadians come before the media and answer questions about that discrepancy. Is it another lie?”
Carney did not respond to True North’s requests for clarification.
“Just like his lies about his role and his full support for the decision of Brookfield to move Canadian jobs to the United States, he needs to address this claim,” Barrett said. “It seems like he only wants to take credit for some things sometimes and other things at other times, dodging accountability when it suits him.”
Barrett also noted Carney’s previous involvement as a member of the board at Stripe, a payment processing site, alleged to engage in predatory practices. The company attracted the ire of small business advocates in Canada by not passing on savings from credit card companies to small businesses as legislated by parliament.
Barrett said he refused to comment on that file either and is “in hiding.”
He also noted Carney refusing to disclose how much he’s made over speaking fees.
“Sneaky Mark Carney is in hiding, and he should be disclosing how much he received in lucrative speaking fees and from whom and when,” Barrett said. “Look if he’s done nothing wrong, he should just come here and address the questions that are rightly being put before him.”