E/CN.4/2004/18/Add.2 page 8 10. Federalism, constitutional monarchy, a parliamentary system on the British model and representative democracy are essential characteristics of the Canadian political system. As far as human rights are concerned, the incorporation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms into the Constitution Act in 1982 replaced the system of legislative supremacy in Canada, thereby subordinating the federal and provincial legislatures to the provisions of the Charter. I. LEGAL AND POLITICAL STRATEGY A. From a policy of biculturalism to multiculturalism 11. The authorities whom the Special Rapporteur met at federal and provincial levels reiterated Canada’s commitment to its multiculturalism policy and to human rights. They underlined that Canada is among the very few countries that celebrate and encourage diversity through an official policy. It has also long held a firm commitment to human rights standards and the mechanisms needed to uphold and implement them, at the international, national and provincial levels. 12. Canada has long been a country with cultural and ethnic diversity. Certainly, it has had a strong European influence on its cultural and political development as a nation, namely through the influx of those of English and French descent during its colonial period. However, the European settlers were not the first, arriving in a country already inhabited by aboriginal peoples, who had arrived many thousand years before from Asia. Whilst most immigrants during the colonial period were of Western European origins, there was also immigration by other groups, such as people of African descent escaping slavery in the United States, often by way of a network known as the “Underground Railroad”. 13. The pattern of immigration was later to change. During the twentieth century an increasing number of non-Europeans immigrated, causing a major demographic shift. Since 1901, Canada has welcomed a total of 13.4 million immigrants. Between 1991 and 2000 alone, 2.2 million immigrants were admitted to Canada, the highest number for any decade in the past century. Although there was some resistance by those of English and French descent to the subsequent effect this immigration had on the cultural make-up of Canada, the initial expectation that immigrants assimilate soon gave way to the recognition of pluralism and the development of the belief that diversity is actually an asset. It is a process of erosion of the “colonial mentality” of those of both British and French descent, who saw themselves as racially superior, a notion which has taken years to erode and that, to a lesser extent, still exists. 14. In 1971 Canada adopted a multiculturalism policy, the first of its kind in the world. In l988, the policy became law when the Canadian Multiculturalism Act was passed. The policy encourages a vision of Canada based on the values of equality and mutual respect without regard to race, national or ethnic origin, colour and religion. The Canadian experience has shown that multiculturalism encourages racial and ethnic harmony and cross-cultural understanding, and discourages ghettoization, hatred, discrimination and violence. Through multiculturalism, Canada recognizes the potential of all Canadians, encouraging them to integrate into their society and take an active part in its social, cultural, economic and political affairs. 15. In its early years the multiculturalism policy concentrated on encouraging the preservation of the cultural heritage of the different groups comprising Canadian society. Later,