Questions raised over temporary fence for Chinese premier’s hotel in Ottawa

The agency in charge of managing federal lands in Ottawa is facing questions over its decision to allow a fence be erected around an Ottawa hotel that hosted a high-ranking Chinese delegation in September.

The National Capital Commission approved a request by the Westin hotel for a tall fence along the length of the building’s entrance during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit.

The temporary barrier shielded the more than 100 delegation members staying at the hotel from protesters across the street.

The hotel management had to ask for permission to erect the fence because the roadway outside the hotel is part of a ceremonial route from the airport to Parliament Hill, newly disclosed documents show.

The request “met the requirements for approval” by the NCC, say the records tabled in Parliament in response to a question from Conservative MP Tom Kmiec.

In granting the request, the NCC considered whether the wall would unduly affect the look and feel of the capital, in keeping with the agency’s statutory mandate, NCC spokesman Jean Wolff told The Canadian Press.

But the federal agency did not consider the issue of the visibility of the protesters, Wolff said, adding that the issue was treated as “a matter of pedestrian traffic, motor vehicle traffic, other type of obstructions.”

The Chinese delegation didn’t provide a reason to the Westin hotel for wanting the fence, so the hotel doesn’t know if the purpose was to block the demonstrators from view, Ross Meredith, the Westin’s general manager, told The Canadian Press.

Kmiec, the Conservative deputy critic for foreign affairs, said he would have had no issue with the fence had it been erected for security purposes. “If it’s just to avoid embarrassment and if it’s just to avoid seeing people protest or speak their minds and express themselves, then I have a problem with that.”

With files from The Canadian Press