Politics Delineates Boundary Dispute

"I have heard no complaint from Canada about anything that has occurred," Assistant United States attorney Brian Kipnis said. "Canada does not have a problem with anything the U.S. is doing." Judge Marsha Pechman said it's unclear whether Canada agrees with the White House's position. "The record is silent on that issue," Pechman said yesterday in a U.S. District Court in Seattle, Wash. The U.S. and Canada are partners in the International Boundary Commission, a joint agency that monitors clearance of the border. The hearing yesterday was to determine whether the Department of Justice or Schornack is the proper defendant in the lawsuit filed by Shirley-Ann and Herbert Leu, a retired couple who live in Blaine, Wash., right along the border. They maintain that the International Boundary Commission has no right to force them to remove the 1.2-metre-high concrete wall. Schornack, a staunch Republican appointed by President George W. Bush, told the Leus that their wall stuck about one metre into a three-metre border buffer zone that had to remain free of obstruction. He said that, if the Leus didn't tear down their wall, the commission would have it done and send them the bill. http://www.thestar.com/News/article/239991 [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on July 30, 2007]

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