E/CN.4/2004/18/Add.2 page 6 Introduction A. Purpose and programme of the visit 1. At the invitation of the Canadian Government and in accordance with his mandate, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance visited Canada from 15 to 26 September 2003. Pursuant to the implementation of the Programme of Action of the Durban Conference, the purpose of the visit was to assess the present situation in Canada, with regard to the question of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia, and hence the state of relations between the various communities, against the country’s characteristically multi-ethnic and multicultural background. 2. The Special Rapporteur’s programme, which, based on this general objective, was prepared as a result of open, effective cooperation between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Government of Canada and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, was aimed at understanding, as objectively as possible, the dynamic complexity of the multicultural situation prevailing in Canada in the light of its considerable diversity and vast territory. He visited 4 out of Canada’s 10 provinces, namely Ontario (Ottawa and Toronto), Quebec (Montreal), Nova Scotia (Halifax) and Saskatchewan (Regina). Unfortunately he did not have enough time to visit the other provinces and territories, particularly British Columbia, where matters pertinent to his mandate require urgent attention. He nevertheless met representatives of civil society from the regions he did not visit, who were able to supply him with information and studies concerning the situation in those provinces. 3. In Ottawa and at various stages of his visit, he met federal and provincial authorities, including Ms. Jean Augustine, Minister of State (Multiculturalism and Status of Women). His exchanges of views with the Canadian authorities were frank and informative. His meetings with the representatives of Canadian civil society were very fruitful and often betrayed considerable emotion on the part of the representatives of the aboriginal peoples. The organizations, which had prepared the encounters with remarkable thoroughness, showed great keenness and awareness with regard to the issue of racism and racial discrimination. In order to contribute to the intellectual debate on the problem of racism and discrimination, the Special Rapporteur took advantage of his visit to deliver two public lectures, at the request of the organizers of his visit, one at the University of Quebec in Montreal on “Intercultural dialogue as a means of combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance”, and the other at the University of Toronto on “Cultural resistance to slavery”. 4. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the Canadian Government’s open-minded approach and wishes to express his satisfaction at the efficient way his visit was organized and the readiness of the departments and administrations concerned to supply information and to reply to his questions. 5. The Special Rapporteur would like to thank the provincial governments and representatives of federal and provincial commissions who were prepared to meet him. He is also particularly grateful to the representatives of civil society, who, through their eloquent testimony and accurate information, often after long journeys, were willing to express their faith