Canada expresses disappointment over recall of PHL envoys

(Eagle News)—The Canadian government has expressed disappointment over the Philippines’ recall of its diplomatic envoys following Canada’s failure to meet the deadline on the return of the garbage shipment.

In a statement, Brittany Fletcher, spokesperson for Canada’s Global Affairs Office, said despite this, “we will continue to engage with the Philippines to ensure a swift resolution of this important issue.”

“Canada has repeatedly conveyed to the Philippine government its commitment to promptly ship and dispose of the Canadian waste in the Philippines,” she said.

Fletcher issued the statement a day after Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Locsin announced the recall of the Philippine ambassador and consuls in Canada after the North American country missed the May 15 deadline to ship back the trash still languishing in a Tarlac landfill.

The trash arrived in the country from Canada six years ago.

President Rodrigo Duterte had threatened to wage war against Canada if it did not have the trash returned.

In response, the Canadian embassy in the Philippines said it was committed to threshing out the issues involved in the return of the trash to Canada, a statement the Palace slammed as “vague.”