DAVAO CITY (May 24) — The Canadian government has vowed to remove all trash from the Philippine soil by the end of June at their expense.
Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, in a statement on Thursday announced that they already contracted a company which will bring back the trash to their country.
“Canada is pleased to announce that it has awarded a contract to Bolloré logistics to safely bring the waste back to Canada as soon as possible and “To ensure its safe and environmentally sound disposal,” McKenna’s statement emphasized.
It added “Canada has amended its regulations to prevent this from happening again and is looking at ways to hold the responsible parties to account.”
As it is now, the Canadia government and the contractor are preparing all the requirements for shipping.
“The removal will be complete by the end of June, as the waste must be safely treated to meet Canadian safety and health requirements. The safe and environmentally sound disposal in Canada of the waste material will take place before the end of summer 2019,” she added.
Two weeks ago, Malacañang said it is willing to shoulder the cost of shipping just to bring back the trash to Canada.
The Department of Foreign Affairs also recalled the Philippine Ambassador to Canada as a sign to protest over the prolonged withdrawal of trash.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said she has already spoken with Foreign Affairs chief Teodoro Locsin Jr. last week, to reiterate Canada’s commitment to promptly repatriate the waste.
“As I mentioned to their Foreign Secretary last week, we are committed to resolving this issue as quickly as possible. Today is an essential step forward in accomplishing that,” she said.
Both McKenna and Freeland emphasized that Canada values its relations with the Philippines.
“Canada values its deep and longstanding relationship with the Philippines and has been working closely with Filipino authorities to find a solution that is mutually acceptable,” McKenna said.
Freeland, meanwhile, highlighted the people-to-people ties of both nations.
In 2013 and 2014, Canadian company, Chronic Inc., exported containers labelled as recyclable plastics to two importers in the Philippines. It was found out that these also contained household wastes.-NewsLine.ph
