E/CN.4/2004/18/Add.2 page 21 collectively, are still placed on the lowest rungs of the social, economic, political and cultural ladder, bears witness to the sustained force of discrimination as a major factor in the structure of Canadian society. 70. In this context, the Special Rapporteur has identified three major issues, which not only explain the persistence of discrimination and racism but also constitute a source of blockages, constraints and delays for the continued progress of multiculturalism: these are the recognition of the reality of racism and discrimination, the successes and failures of the legal and political strategy, and the lack of any intellectual and ethical strategy. A. The question of the recognition of racial discrimination 71. A basic precondition for any credible effort to combat racial discrimination is the objective recognition that it really exists. For the Special Rapporteur, such recognition constitutes a decisive criterion in assessing a government’s determination to succeed and in arriving at an objective evaluation of its policy. According to this yardstick, the results are mixed. At federal level, the representatives of the various departments showed a certain reluctance, if not actual hesitation, when it came to admitting the reality of racial discrimination in Canadian society. This hesitation is all the more paradoxical if one considers that the very same officials, very competently and sincerely, gave the Special Rapporteur a detailed account of all the policies and measures their departments were taking to combat racial discrimination and xenophobia. The recognition of the reality of discrimination appeared on the other hand more direct and spontaneous on the part of the political, administrative, judicial and law enforcement authorities in the provinces. 72. The representatives of ethnic and racial minorities whom the Special Rapporteur had occasion to meet, from all the communities, gave oral testimonies full of emotion and expressed their conviction, backed by studies and documents, that, despite the adoption of multiculturalism as official policy, racial discrimination in Canada is still a tangible, subtle and systemic reality. In their view, it expresses itself in a variety of ways: in the poverty afflicting members of their communities; in their overrepresentation in the prison population; in the widespread daily practice of racial profiling; in their underrepresentation in the middle and upper layers of political, administrative, economic, cultural and media institutions and mechanisms, and in the obstacles that impede their access to employment, housing and health care. Nowadays, the new, particularly vulnerable victims of discrimination are the immigrants, non-nationals and refugees. B. Progress and limitations of political and legal strategy against racial discrimination 73. Compared with other countries in North America, particularly those bearing a heavy legacy of discrimination and possessing a similar demographic and cultural structure, Canada has undoubtedly achieved remarkable progress in its legal and political strategy for combating racial discrimination. The constitutional, legal and legislative framework established by successive governments provides a solid legal basis and the expression of a clear political will to fight racial discrimination and to offer remedies to its victims. This legal and political strategy, however, does reveal a number of shortcomings, to which the Special Rapporteur feels he should draw the Canadian Government’s attention. One significant limitation of the strategy is the insufficiency or lack of resources available for any realistic implementation of the strategy.