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OTTAWA — A Senate committee is objecting to government legislation they say doesn’t go far enough in removing gender-based discrimination from Canada’s Indian Act — yet another move signalling that a more-independent Senate is willing to use its power.

The government is requesting an extension on a court deadline — just like the Senate asked them to Tuesday — but it still wants to pass the bill as it stands now.

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The government drafted Bill S-3 and introduced it in the Senate as part of its response to a Quebec superior court ruling that found registration rules in the Indian Act violate Charter rights.

But in a Dec. 13 letter, senators on the aboriginal peoples committee say they’ve heard evidence discrimination will continue despite the measures included in the bill — and they unanimously want Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett to request an extension from the court so she can revamp or replace it. The committee’s letter states the senators are “considering whether to recommend that this bill not be proceeded with further in the Senate.”