OTTAWA — The man who would become one of Canada’s most polarizing cabinet ministers spent a rainy 2001 summer afternoon in handcuffs.

Two Greenpeace activists, 24-year-old British citizen Christopher Holden and 32-year-old Steven Guilbeault from Quebec — both clad in orange jumpsuits — would eventually plead guilty to public mischief after scaling 350 metres up the CN Tower to hang a 15-square-metre banner accusing former U.S. President George W. Bush and Canada of being “climate killers.”

That stunt cost the CN Tower $50,000, the court heard, and required staff to block off a large portion of the observation deck while the men were rescued.

Handed a conditional discharge, ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution, perform 100 hours of community service and a year probation, Guilbeault patte

See Full Page