Close X
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
ADVT 
National

Canada 'Disappointed' Philippines Recalling Ambassador, Consuls Over Trash

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 16 May, 2019 08:04 PM

    OTTAWA — Canada's foreign ministry says it's disappointed by the Philippines' decision to recall top diplomats over festering trash.


    The department says Canada has "repeatedly conveyed" to the Philippines government that it is committed to ship and dispose of Canadian garbage that's been stuck in a Philippine port for nearly six years.


    "Canada is disappointed by this decision to recall the Philippines ambassador and consuls general," the department said in a statement. "However, we will continue to closely engage with the Philippines to ensure a swift resolution of this important issue."


    Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. tweeted late Wednesday that the Philippines "shall maintain a diminished diplomatic presence in Canada until its garbage is ship bound there."


    Locsin said in his tweet that letters for the recall of the Philippine ambassador and consuls in Canada have been sent and that the diplomats were expected back in Manila "in about a day or so."


    "That recall shows that we are very serious in asking them to get back their garbage otherwise we're gonna sever relations with them," presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told a regular news conference.


    Ottawa and Manila have engaged in the waste war for nearly six years, ever since Philippine customs officials discovered 103 containers from a Canadian company labelled as plastics for recycling were actually more than half-filled with regular trash. The Philippines say the containers are an illegal shipment.


    The contents of 34 containers were already disposed of locally in the Philippines, leaving 69 in the ports of Manila and Subic, awaiting a resolution to the dispute.


    The country's president, Rodrigo Duterte, threatened last month to forcibly ship them back to Canada and dump some at the Canadian Embassy in Manila if Canadian officials failed to take back the waste.


    The Philippines later set a May 15 deadline for Canada to comply but the 69 containers remain in the Philippines while Canada sorts out the red tape needed to bring them back.


    Canada attempted until recently to convince the Philippines to dispose of the trash locally but after Duterte's threats in April, agreed to bring it back to Canada and to pay for the costs.


    A court in the Philippines had ordered it returned to Canada in 2016.


    Duterte raised the garbage issue in a speech last month while officials from both countries were already discussing a resolution to the issue. The volatile president said he was ready to "declare war against" Canada over the issue.


    "I want a boat prepared. I'll give a warning to Canada maybe next week that they better pull that thing out or I will set sail to Canada and pour their garbage there," Duterte said, adding he would ask Canadian officials to "prepare a grand reception."


    "Celebrate because your garbage is coming home," he said. "Eat it if you want to."


    An official later said the war threat was just meant to convey how upset Duterte is about the matter.


    The Canadian government said through its embassy in Manila after Duterte's provocative remarks that it "is strongly committed to collaborating with the government of the Philippines to resolve this issue." It said it was aware of a Philippine court ruling that ordered a private importer to ship the waste back to Canada.


    A group of officials from both sides "is examining the full spectrum of issues related to the removal of the waste with a view to a timely resolution," the embassy said in a statement.


    Philippine Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero has said "bureaucratic red tape" in Canada slowed the return of the rest.


    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in 2017 that regulatory hurdles preventing the return of the garbage had been cleared.


    Last year, Duterte ordered the cancellation of a multimillion-dollar agreement to buy 16 helicopters from Canada after Canada decided to review the deal due to concerns the Philippine military might use the aircraft in counterinsurgency assaults.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Crisis Line Urgently Needed For Victims Of Coerced Sterilization: Senator

    Crisis Line Urgently Needed For Victims Of Coerced Sterilization: Senator
    An Ontario senator is calling on the federal government to fund a crisis line for victims of coerced and forced sterilization to ensure traumatized women can access assistance.

    Crisis Line Urgently Needed For Victims Of Coerced Sterilization: Senator

    Man Charged With Child Pornography Over Sex Doll Says He Bought It To Replace Son

    Kenneth Harrisson ordered "Carol" from a Japanese website advertising childlike and adult sex dolls in 2013, and the doll was intercepted by the Canada Border Services Agency on its way to Canada.

    Man Charged With Child Pornography Over Sex Doll Says He Bought It To Replace Son

    UN Environment Report Has Strong Message For Canada: Co-Author

    UN Environment Report Has Strong Message For Canada: Co-Author
    A Canadian author of a mammoth UN report on the environment says its findings on the decline of nature has an important message for Canada.

    UN Environment Report Has Strong Message For Canada: Co-Author

    Regina Police Pilot Program Will Allow Experts To Review Sex Assault Cases

    Regina Police Pilot Program Will Allow Experts To Review Sex Assault Cases
    REGINA — The Regina Police Service is the latest agency in Canada to pilot a program that allows sexual assault cases to be reviewed by outside experts.    

    Regina Police Pilot Program Will Allow Experts To Review Sex Assault Cases

    Prince Edward Island Woman Facing Third Charge Of Infanticide: Police

    Prince Edward Island Woman Facing Third Charge Of Infanticide: Police
    CHARLOTTETOWN — A Prince Edward Island woman who admitted to causing the deaths of two infants is now facing a third charge of infanticide.

    Prince Edward Island Woman Facing Third Charge Of Infanticide: Police

    Calgary Police Say Bodies Of Missing Mother And Daughter Found

    Police say they have found the bodies of a Calgary woman and her toddler daughter who disappeared last month. Investigators say a suspect, who was earlier questioned in the case, has been taken into custody and charges are pending.  

    Calgary Police Say Bodies Of Missing Mother And Daughter Found