Prime Minister Stephen Harper's friendly Vancouver Board of Trade chat about "pipelines, Pacific Gateway and pucks" was upstaged Monday.
Despite having the most expensive security detail in Canadian prime ministerial history, two climate activists donned simple serving staff clothing, strolled onto the stage and got within arm's reach of the big man himself.
And what happened next? Nothing that would harm the PM physically. Not even a pie in the face. Before they were gently ushered off stage, the protesters held up pieces of paper with messages calling for action on climate change.
The PM handled the temporary embarrassment with a graceful joke, the talk carried on and Vancouver police have decided no charges will be necessary.
That makes this about the most Canadian security breach in history.
Let's be thankful that the greatest threats our leaders face is being lampooned on This Hour Has 22 Minutes or being spotted in an old photo alongside Rob Ford. And that someone who breached the PM's security would end up on the evening news, not in prison or worse.
But let's not forget Harper invites this kind of behaviour. By sealing himself off from the media and the public in any circumstance he can't control, he dares activists to attempt this kind of stunt. And it's much more embarrassing when it happens. If the PM would loosen his white knuckle grip on his image and message control, incidents like this would be a lot less newsworthy.
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