[chrisser]

Shornack may be an idiot. However...

"To put it mildly, the Leus were shocked. After all, their retaining wall stands about 8 feet from the actual border and well within their property line"

Obtaining Permission for Construction

To perform any type of work on the 20 feet(6 metre) wide vista along the boundary, a letter of authorization by the commissioners is required. Work is defined in Section 2 of the International Boundary Commission Act, R.S.C. 1985, c1-16, as: "Any ditch, earthwork, building or structure of any description or any lines of telephone, telegraph or power, including posts, piers or abutments for sustaining or protecting the wires or cables of those lines."

Seems the Leus should have looked into what it means to own property along the border. By treaty, it is managed 20 feet on either side by this commission, which was created in 1908.

All that said, Shornack could have handled things a bit more diplomatically and that may be reason enough to fire him, but he appears to be acting within the bounds of the law with respect to the area near the border.

[RC30]

“To put it mildly, the Leus were shocked. After all, their retaining wall stands about 8 feet from the actual border and well within their property line”

From this description it is still unclear to me as to where the retaining wall is. If this were me making this statement as a property owner I think I would be saying that the wall is 8 feet from the edge of the 20 foot border, that is 18 feet from the center of the swath. Not eight feet from the exact middle.