[1] Section 27 provides: 27 This Charter shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the preservation and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians.In Canada, multicultural policy had been adopted in 1971 following the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, a government body set up in response to the grievances of Canada's French-speaking minority (concentrated in the province of Quebec).
The report of the Commission advocated that the Canadian government should recognize Canada as a bilingual and bicultural society and adopt policies to preserve this character.
Lawyer and future mayor of Edmonton and leader of the Alberta Liberal Party Laurence Decore was the head of the CCCM from 1980 to 1983 and is sometimes credited as principal drafter of Section 27.
Hogg also remarked that it was difficult to see how this could have a large impact on the reading of the Charter, and thus section 27 could be "more of a rhetorical flourish than an operative provision.
As the Court noted, the Parliament of Canada requiring Canadians to observe "the day of rest preferred by one religion" contradicted multiculturalism and section 27.
Section 27 was applied by Chief Justice Brian Dickson in a different way in the Supreme Court case Canada (Human Rights Commission) v. Taylor (1990).