A Canadian junior envoy who caused a diplomatic spat by spitting at a Tanzanian policeman and journalist has been recalled.

Canada's High Commissioner Robert Orr was summoned by the Tanzanian foreign ministry over the incident last week.

"In the best interest of all involved parties, the Canadian official will be leaving Tanzania at the earliest possible time," Mr Orr said.

However, the journalist concerned says he still wants to take legal action.

"Justice must be done. Repatriating him is only one stage, but it doesn't mean that it's over. I will go to the police, to make sure that they hold his passport," Jerry Muro, from the Tanzanian Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) told the local HabariLeo newspaper.

He says he was spat on at the police station where the diplomat was taken last Wednesday.

The diplomat was arrested after he reportedly spat at a traffic policeman on duty in the middle of a traffic jam in the Banana district on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam.

Tanzania's foreign ministry says the incident was a humiliation not just for the police officer and journalist concerned, but for the entire country.