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Ecowaste lauds Manila’s recall of envoys from Canada

The Ecowaste Coalition on Thursday lauded the Philippine government’s decision to recall its top envoys in Canada after Ottawa failed to take back tons of rubbish it had dumped in the country.

“Sec. Locsin’s recall of Filipino diplomats in Canada is an unambiguous indicator of our government’s firm resolve to ensure the re-export of the illegal waste shipments to its state of origin consistent with the Basel Convention,” Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator of EcoWaste Coalition said.

Lucero blamed the sluggish action of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his predecessor Stephen Harper to take back over 100 shipping containers filled with trash that it had dumped to the Philippines five years ago.

“This would have not happened if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his predecessor Stephen Harper acted fast and seriously enough to resolve this stinking controversy involving the dumping of Canadian garbage in 103 container vans disguised as plastic scraps for recycling,” Lucero added.

She also called on Filipinos to “rally behind such a diplomatic protest to induce Ottawa to act without delay.”

The EcoWaste Coalition further urged the government to swiftly to ratify the Basel Ban Amendment, in order to send the message accross “that our shores will not be made a dumping ground of Canada and other countries.”

The Amendmentment prohibits all transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and other wastes from developed to developing countries

The decision to recall its high ranking envoys came after the Canadian government missed the May 15 deadline imposed by the Philippine government.

Staff Report

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