E/CN.4/2004/18/Add.2 page 24 IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 81. (a) The Canadian Government should add credibility, trust and recognition to its undoubted political commitment to combating racism, discrimination and xenophobia, by recognizing, at the highest level, that such evils still persist, despite the efforts accomplished; (b) It is particularly recommended that a national programme against racism be launched, in order to place the effort within a coordinated, coherent general framework. The milestones laid by the Canadian Foundation through its follow-up programme to the Durban Conference and the plans of action devised by the City of Toronto to combat racial discrimination should be taken into account in this respect; (c) This national programme should be structured around a two-pronged legal and intellectual strategy, based on the Declaration and Programme of Action of the Durban Conference, in which Canada, through both its Government and its civil society, took an active part and to whose final consensus it contributed; (d) The legal strategy should be based on the one hand on an in-depth assessment of the relevance and effectiveness of existing constitutional, legislative, judicial and administrative measures, and on the other hand on the principle of vigilance, flexibility and adaptability to the changing challenges and forms of discrimination, particularly in a country experiencing a major dynamic of migration; (e) An intellectual strategy is urgently needed as a support for legal strategy and should be based on three objectives: a better understanding of the deep roots of the history, culture and mentality of racism and discrimination, the encouragement of mutual awareness of the history, cultural and spiritual background of the different communities, and a better understanding of their interactions and cross-fertilization; (f) It is recommended that a national commission to combat discrimination and promote multiculturalism be created in order to develop this national programme. The commission, which could be placed under the authority of Parliament, should be composed of three elements, political, communal and scientific, with the participation of the private sector. In view of the considerable gap the Special Rapporteur observed between the Government’s political will and achievements in combating racism and discrimination on the one hand and the negative perception of these policies and the feeling of deep-rooted persistence of racism and discrimination reported by the representatives of the communities concerned on the other, the commission should begin by drawing up an exhaustive assessment of policies and strategies for combating racism and discrimination, from the point of view of their impact on political, legislative, judicial, administrative, security, social, economic, cultural and educational systems; (g) The situation of the aboriginal communities requires urgent, overall review, with the full and unreserved participation of their representatives, with particular emphasis on the fundamental issues that concern them, such as the application of treaties and their economic, social and cultural empowerment;