A meeting of government officials, including Premier Jason Kenney, was cut short Thursday after a man fleeing police climbed the scaffolding outside MacDougall Centre in downtown Calgary.
During a meeting of the Priorities Implementation Cabinet Committee, a man was seen on the scaffolding on the government building at about 11:20 a.m.
When officers tried to get him to come down, he instead climbed further up, police said.
“The man was not able to enter the building, but the attempted entry led the Alberta Sheriffs to take steps to secure government officials attending a meeting inside,” CPS said.
The premier’s office said Alberta Sheriffs “took appropriate action to endure the security of the premier and members of cabinet.”
The premier’s office didn’t say how many people were in the meeting at the time, but said not all members of the committee were there to allow for proper physical distancing in the space.
Calgary police said the man was arrested and is facing trespassing charges.
Investigators don’t know why the man was on the scaffolding in the first place, and said mental health concerns are believed to be a factor in the incident.
“We believe the incident location was random and that the man was not targeting the government with his actions,” police said.
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