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.
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.”
