Philippines Recalls Ambassador to Canada Amid Trash Dispute

The Philippines has recalled its ambassador to Canada after Canada failed to meet a May 15 deadline to take back the trash it dumped in Manila in 2013 and 2014.

Earlier this week, it seemed the years-long argument over which country is responsible for 2,500 tons of trash that was shipped to the Philippines in 2013 and 2014 from Canada was nearing an end when the Canadian government announced it would take back the containers of household trash and e-waste that were mislabeled as plastic scrap.

The Philippine government set a May 15 deadline for Canada to take back its trash. However, "bureaucratic red tape” in the Canadian government slowed down the process of re-exporting the trash back to its country, and Canada missed the deadline.

Now, the Philippine government, which stated Canada's representatives failed to show up at the meeting arranged with Philippines customs, has retaliated by recalling the envoys.

International Business Times has more details:

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte recalled the country's ambassador Canada after the latter country failed to comply with the May 15 deadline to re-export the trash dumped in Manila, but stopped short of cutting diplomatic ties.

The Philippines Foreign Affairs secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. tweeted on Thursday,  "At midnight last night, letters for the recall of our ambassador and consuls to Canada went out. They are expected here in a day or so. Canada missed the May 15 deadline. And we shall maintain a diminished diplomatic presence in Canada until its garbage is ship bound there," he said.

The issue escalated after Canada failed to meet the deadline to reclaim the garbage a Canadian company shipped to the Manila port in 2013 and 2014. Philippines had set May 15 as the deadline to ship back the garbage.

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