Ottawa's rogue page confronts Wildrose leader
Brigette DePape interrupted a throne speech with a 'Stop Harper' sign
CBC News
Posted: Apr 23, 2012 2:12 PM MT
Last Updated: Apr 23, 2012 6:35 PM MT
Brigette DePape lost her job as a Senate page after disrupting a speech from the throne to protest against Prime Minister Stephen Harper. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)
Related
Related Stories
The former Senate page who was famously fired for interrupting a throne speech with a "Stop Harper" sign brought her signature protest move to the Alberta election today.
Brigette DePape held up a "Stop Harper's Gang" sign as Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith left a polling station with her husband David Moretta in High River, Alberta.
DePape stood outside the Highwood Memorial Centre wearing a page costume with white gloves
Smith, who seemed unfazed by the demonstration, quipped that her party must be doing well if the opposition was importing protesters from Ottawa. She also joked that she would be voting strategically.
DePape said she was there on her own to speak for young people, and that Wildrose policies are even more extreme than those of the Harper government.
DePape was dubbed the rogue page after she walked onto the Senate floor last June to protest against Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Her silent protest took place during Gov. Gen. David Johnston's afternoon speech.
Senate pages are hired for one to two years to work in the upper chamber, providing basic support to the senators during sittings and in committee meetings, which generally means fetching water, photocopying documents and passing messages.
Pages tend to be politically engaged, but DePape's protest was unprecedented.
With files from the Canadian PressShare Tools
Latest Calgary News Headlines
- Police nab Calgary motorcyclist at 180 km/h
- RCMP in Airdrie arrested two men for speeding Saturday on Highway 2 near Crossfield, where one of the men was travelling at 180 km/h. more »
- Missing teen found
- Calgary police have found a 15-year-old boy who had been reported as missing early Sunday morning. more »
- Six campers rescued after getting lost in Kananaskis Country
- A group of six campers was rescued Sunday morning after becoming lost when they wandered away from their campsite near Gorge Creek Trail. more »
- It's all Greek to yogurt fans
- The latest craze at the grocery store is old hat in many Balkan countries, where the benefits of Greek yogurt have long been known. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Harper chief of staff resigns amid Senate expense scandal
- Nigel Wright has resigned as Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff, following revelations he wrote a $90,000 cheque to repay living expenses claimed by Senator Mike Duffy. more »
- Jeep driver apologizes after stunt kills Edmonton woman
- A man claiming to be the driver of a Jeep that struck and killed a spectator at a charity event in Edmonton says he is sorry for what happened. more »
- Senior Pakistani politician Zahra Shahid shot dead
- Voting in Karachi goes ahead a day after gunmen killed a senior member of Imran Khan's Movement for Justice (PTI) party outside her home in Karachi. more »
- Saudi coronavirus work stymied at Canadian lab
- The National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg is working with a sample of the new coronavirus that's causing clusters of infections abroad - but can't share the material with other researchers across the country despite the public health urgency. more »
- 1 person hurt after trains collide near Medicine Hat
- Calgary police arrest 2 following minor explosions
- Homeowner says he was swindled out of his own property
- It's all Greek to yogurt fans
- Crews respond to Ramsay blaze
- Six campers rescued after getting lost in Kananaskis Country
- Fire destroys, damages 2 homes hours after ban lifted
- Lock your doors, police warn
- RCMP investigating after man dies in Gleichen

