This text is part of the special booklet 90th Acfas Congress
In terms of immigration, the discrepancy between political speeches and realities on the ground is multiple and multifaceted. The Research Team on Immigration to Quebec and Elsewhere (ERIQA) and their guests will have the opportunity to examine it during a conference in the cadre of 90e Acfas Congress.
“For some time, we have been witnessing, in all countries of the world, a considerable gap between what governments say they are going to do and what they are doing,” says Mireille Paquet, professor in the Department of Political Science at Concordia University and member of ERIQA.
If this lack of concordance is not visible only in terms of immigration, it has become “a central object of contemporary migration studies”, indicates the co-director of the colloquium. Immigration in Quebec and elsewhere: discrepancy between political discourse and realities on the ground?
And for good reason. In Quebec, in particular, we observe “specific dynamics in terms of the implementation [des lois et des programmes en immigration] “, often subject to the discretion of agents or community organizations, responsible for their implementation in the field, she explains.
Dissonance
“What interests us is not so much whether elected officials keep their promises”, underlines Professor Paquet, specifying that the symposium’s approach is not prescriptive, but aims to “understand how commitments and the speeches can be lost afterwards, in practice”.
In addition to this gap between public policies and their applications, the symposium will address the discrepancy with the migratory journey, or even political and media discourse.
Also co-director of the symposium and member of ERIQA, professor in the Department of Geography at Université Laval, Adèle Garnier, admits from the outset that “it is not easy for the media to talk about immigration from a way that reflects reality really well, because it’s a very complex subject”. Certain political speeches can for example be oriented by a desire to “convince voters”.
Added to this is the fact that temporary immigrants do not have the right to vote and, after all, have relatively little voice in the public arena, she argues.
Domino effect
There are many consequences of these different shifts on the trajectories and reality of migrants, but also on the host society.
This mismatch between public policies and their applications can have “effects of misunderstanding or frustration” on the part of migrants and voters, and lead to a “loss of confidence in institutions”, fears Adèle Garnier.
This discrepancy, or more precisely these unfulfilled commitments, has tangible effects of precariousness. In addition to plunging many immigrants into uncertainty, the lengthening of regulatory processing times can, for example, delay obtaining a work permit, and therefore deprive them of income. This precariousness then puts pressure on community organizations, which therefore demand more financial support from governments, explains the professor. A snake biting its own tail.
To do the splits
From discourse to practice, elected officials are doing the splits. While François Legault’s government adopts a restrictive discourse on immigration thresholds, it is, in practice, increasing integration budgets, temporary immigration thresholds and the rights of temporary immigrants “like no other government has did before him”, notes Mireille Paquet.
These discrepancies can, according to her, be partially attributed to the government’s electoral strategy: although promises are made to convince some of the voters who “experience a certain anxiety around immigration”, actions are also taken to respond to expectations of economic actors, for whom immigration can in particular relieve labor needs.
Moreover, the “politicization” and “polarization” around migration concerns contribute, that said, to making them visible. “The fact that there are more and more migrants in the public space can also have a mobilizing effect within the host society”, analyzes Adèle Garnier. “It can make more people aware of immigration. It’s a good thing, ”she rejoices.
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