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Hours later, Canada announced a contract had been signed, although the document posted online suggests the deal was actually done May 17.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland spoke to her counterpart in the Philippines, foreign secretary Teodoro Locsin, following Duterte’s decision to recall the Philippine ambassador. She said Wednesday Canada is very focused on bringing this matter to a conclusion.

“I think we have taken a big step with the announcement today and we are moving as quickly as we can, bearing in mind, you know, the need to take due care to get this resolved once and for all,” Freeland said at an event in Regina.

Duterte’s spokesman, Salvador Panelo, told a news conference in Manila Wednesday that Duterte was upset “about the inordinate delay of Canada in shipping back its containers of garbage,” adding “We are extremely disappointed with Canada’s neither-here-nor-there pronouncement on the matter.”

More than five years of talks between Canada and the Philippines to deal with the trash went nowhere until last month, when Duterte threatened war and said he would ship the garbage back to Canada himself.

“Eat it if you want to,” he declared.

Panelo said Wednesday the Philippines “must not be treated as trash by other foreign nations.”

“Obviously, Canada is not taking this issue nor our country seriously. The Filipino people are gravely insulted about Canada treating this country as a dumpsite,” Panelo said.

NDP MP Gord Johns said he is relieved Canada is finally doing what it should have done years ago. He said “it’s disgraceful” that Canada allowed the dispute to escalate to this point before acting.

He noted South Korea took just a few months to take garbage back when it accidentally sent containers of trash to the Philippines, and Canada should have done the same.

— with files from The Associated Press