OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau left the door open Wednesday to a possible delay in enacting his government’s cannabis legalization bill — a move recommended by a Senate committee concerned with Indigenous issues.

In a report issued Tuesday, the Senate aboriginal peoples committee called on the government to put off legalizing marijuana for up to a year so broader consultations on the matter could take place with Indigenous communities.

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The report said the government’s “atrocious” lack of proper consultation on its cannabis bill undermines its claims to be trying to have a new and better relationship with Indigenous peoples.

When asked whether he’d be willing to delay implementing Bill C-45, Trudeau didn’t answer directly, but indicated the Liberals will forge ahead with their plan to legalize marijuana for recreational use.

“We’ll continue to consult a broad range of Canadians,” Trudeau said as he entered a meeting of his caucus.

“And as our parliamentary secretary Bill Blair says regularly, legalization is not an event, it’s a process,” he added.

“And that process will continue.”

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