A border dispute between the US and Canada
from Viewpoints – Placecloud (English) Hosted by Babak Fakhamzadeh
Bellingham, United States. A few years ago the Leu family, the owners of a house there, began construction on a retaining wall at the bottom of their property, which slopes downwards towards the boundary line. The International Boundary Commission became aware of the construction, and determined that the wall was 30 inches inside the vista line, and would have to be removed. The homeowners protested, and legal wrangling ensued. When things were settled, the wall stayed, but the US head of the Boundary Commission, Dennis Schornack, was fired for handling the matter poorly. He did not go down easily though. The appointment of the US Boundary Commissioner is made by the President of the United States. After receiving the letter from President Bush informing him of his dismissal, Commissioner Schornack responded with a letter to the President, saying that he had no authority to fire him, according to the International Treaty of 1908 that created the IBC. President Bush fired him anyways.
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