A member of the RCMP protective detail tries to remove a protester rushes the the stage as Prime Minister Stephen Harper speaks a the Vancouver, Board of Trade in downtown Vancouver, B.C. Monday, Jan. 6, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
January 08, 2014 - 1:17 PM
VANCOUVER - The RCMP says it has identified and fixed the "mistake" that allowed two climate-change protesters to walk onto a stage with touching distance of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
However, the force isn't saying just what that mistake was or what specifically officials have done to prevent it from happening again.
Two activists walked on a stage at a downtown hotel as Harper settled in for a question-and-answer session with the head of the Vancouver Board of Trade on Monday.
They were quickly removed, and Vancouver police have said there won't be any charges related to the incident.
RCMP Cpl. Lucy Shorey says in a statement that the force continues to review the incident, and it has implemented changes to ensure it doesn't happen again.
The statement says protecting officials such as the prime minister requires a balance between the duty to protect elected leaders and the free speech rights of the public.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014