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The wall built of concrete blocks in the Rideau River behind the Chinese Embassy lies within embassy boundaries and falls under its exclusive jurisdiction, embassy officials said in a statement released yesterday.
“The alleged site of ‘debris dumping’ completely lies within the boundaries of the Chinese Embassy, and therefore, within the dimensions of its exclusive jurisdiction,” the release says. “Instead of ‘dumping into the river,’ it is, in fact, a protective project on the ground to ‘fix damaged shoreline’.”
The northwest corner of the embassy’s grounds has been exposed to erosion, affecting shoreline trees and ground vegetation, and weakening the perimeter walls of the embassy “to the point of near-collapse,” the statement says.
The blocks used in the project are concrete blocks from the perimeter walls that would pose no risk of pollution to the river, the statement says: “It is exactly out of the consideration for ecological protection that the Embassy had planned to cover the grounds with a thick layer of topsoil on which grass turfs will be planted to fend off further soil erosion.”
For reporting on the wall “without solid confirmation of even the basic facts,” the Chinese Embassy is asking for an apology from the Citizen.
In response, Citizen Deputy Editor Drew Gragg said, “Our reporters have gone to great lengths to get the embassy’s comments since we first heard of this situation, but until this afternoon there’s been no official response. While we welcome the embassy’s views, the Citizen stands by the facts as we’ve reported them.”
The embassy’s statement said that as long as its actions do not affect the rights and interests of others, it is allowed to pursue projects on its own grounds.
But jurisdiction over the waterway could fall to any of three governing bodies, depending on property line details that might be outlined in the deed.
“If they overstepped their jurisdiction, it’s just a matter of explaining it to them,” said André Lemay, a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs. Typically, rivers and waterways are Crown land and subject to legislation under the provincial Conservation Authorities Act, said Shelley Macpherson of the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority.
“The Rideau River is Crown land, either provincial or federal. It’s federal where it’s the Rideau River and canal,” she said.
Land that lies below the high-water mark usually falls under the purview of the province and the Ministry of Natural Resources, said Steve Aubry, the ministry enforcement supervisor for the district that includes Ottawa.
However, until the particulars of the deed are determined, it is unclear whose jurisdiction will rule.
“There are some situations where someone owns the deed of the land and it includes the lands under the waters,” Mr. Aubry said. “That does arise.”
Foreign Affairs will be facilitating contact between the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority and the Chinese Embassy, Mr. Lemay said.
The conservation authority is concerned about sediment from the blocks and construction entering the river and potentially inhibiting the breathing of fish in the river, Ms. Macpherson said.
“It’s not just about the fish. There’s the turtles, the frogs,” she said. “And there’s birds. It’s everything. And then the sediment goes downstream.”
The blocks in the river were noticed by a kayaker early last week as he paddled past. Late last week, the blocks, which had previously been piled in the water at the river’s edge, were being used to build a retaining wall.
Yesterday at 2 p.m., the wall of concrete blocks, two blocks wide and about three blocks high at its largest, was unsupervised. It was holding back a pile of dirt and other blocks that lead to the white, wooden-slat door to the embassy’s back grounds.
he wall of concrete blocks has some wondering how they can begin similar construction projects of their own.
The Rideau River Conservation Authority was contacted yesterday by two people asking, “Oh, well if this is the new treatment for shorelines, I want to sign up for that. Where do I get my approval?” Ms. Macpherson said.
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Read online the full text of the statement released by the Chinese Embassy and sent to the Citizen.
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