MONTREAL — Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is laughing off the prime minister’s latest justification for proroguing Parliament.

Ignatieff says Stephen Harper’s claim that shutting down Parliament allows him to avoid instability as it prepares a new economic agenda is the best joke he has heard in a while.

Harper made the comments in an interview broadcast Monday on the Business News Network.

The prime minister said financial markets are concerned about the stability of his minority government.

Ignatieff is accusing Harper of trying to operate outside the usual checks and balances of Canadian democracy.

The Liberal leader was speaking to reporters in Montreal today after addressing students at a business school.

Ignatieff is on the second leg of a cross-country tour of colleges and universities to drum up youth support for the Liberals.