Pretend page flashes ‘Stop Harper’ sign in Senate

OTTAWA – The Harper government’s first throne speech under a majority mandate hit a slight snag Friday.

A lone female protester – dressed like a Senate page – quietly walked to the centre of the red chamber and held up a sign reading "Stop Harper."

The Governor General didn’t flinch as he continued to read the speech.

The young woman was quietly escorted out of the Senate without a fuss, but was able to stand close to the seated Supreme Court justices for at least 20 seconds.

It’s not clear whether she was a Senate employee or merely dressed in a page’s uniform.

In the speech itself the new majority Conservative government promised to focus on the economy and kill the long-gun registry and the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly.

The speech also included plans to reform the Senate, maintain health-care funding increases, and create a new Office of Religious Freedom to help protect minorities abroad.