On February 2, 2026, Prof. Delphine. Nakache will present “The Regularization Maze: How Canada’s Temporary Migration System Manufactures Precarity.” Learn more about her work.
Delphine Nakache is a lawyer and Full Professor in the Faculty of Law, French Common Law Section, at the University of Ottawa, where she holds a University Research Chair on Migrant Protection and International Law. Her research focuses on improving protection for the most precarious groups of asylum seekers, temporary migrants and immigrants. Her work, published in English and French, bridges academic research and public policy. She regularly engages with government and civil society representatives on these topics and acts as a consultant for many government and intergovernmental institutions.
Could you introduce your research focus and the current project(s) you are doing now?
My work examines how legal and policy frameworks shape migrant vulnerability, and how we can change them. Through my Chair, established in December 2024, I pursue this through three interconnected streams: documenting how Canadian policies have evolved and their impacts on migrants’ rights; examining gaps between Canada’s international commitments and domestic implementation; and conducting comparative analysis to identify what works elsewhere. The Chair’s approach combines multidisciplinary research, close collaboration with community partners, and bilingual knowledge mobilization. Current projects include access to justice for precarious migrants, humanitarian pathways for human rights defenders and migration diplomacy research with European and African collaborators.
Immigration law and policy are a complex and often contentious field. What compelled you to dedicate yourself to researching Canada’s temporary migration system?
Early in my legal career, I witnessed how temporary migration programs—despite their stated goals—often left workers in deeply vulnerable situations. When I began teaching at the University of Alberta in 2008, this became impossible to ignore: Alberta’s booming economy relied heavily on temporary migrants, yet little legal protection was available to them. Most research at the time focused on seasonal agricultural workers and live-in caregivers, while the broader Temporary Foreign Worker Program had expanded dramatically with little public scrutiny. The gap between legal protections on paper and lived realities on the ground struck me as both troubling and underexamined. I felt compelled to investigate these structural gaps, hoping that evidence-based research could inform more equitable policies.
You hold a dual professional background as both a lawyer and an academic. How do these two distinct lenses influence your perspective on the complex issues of migration and human rights?
Being trained as a lawyer grounds my work in practical realities: how laws are drafted, interpreted, and enforced—or not. I stay connected to legal practice through bar associations, conferences, and teaching future lawyers, which keeps me attuned to what migrants actually face. However, I deliberately do not practice law: doing so would create conflicts of interest with my research, where migrants must feel free to share their experiences without expecting legal assistance in return. When I see someone in trouble, though, I do not hesitate to connect them with lawyers in my network. As an academic, I can step back, gather empirical data, and identify systemic patterns that individual cases cannot reveal. What I value most is being a bridge between research and practice, ensuring that evidence serves those who need it most.
Your talk centers on the concept of ‘Manufacturing Precarity,’ which is a key term in your speech topic. How would you explain the complex mechanism of this concept to public audiences who are not from the legal/academic field?
Canadians often assume that when migrants face exploitation or hardship, it is the fault of “bad apple” employers or unfortunate circumstances. “Manufacturing precarity” challenges that assumption. It means vulnerability is not accidental; it is built into the very design of our migration programs. When work permits tie workers to a single employer, when pathways to permanent residence keep shrinking, and when access to healthcare is restricted, these are not exceptions; they are policy choices. The result is a workforce that is legally present but structurally disadvantaged: afraid to complain, unable to plan for the future. Precarity is not a bug in the system; it is a feature. Understanding this matters because if we misdiagnose the problem solely as “bad apples,” we will never fix the system itself.
For members of the public interested in migration policies and law, what advice would you give them on where to begin engaging in the conversation?
Start by listening to migrants themselves. Community organizations, advocacy groups, and migrant worker associations share stories and analyses that rarely make it into mainstream media. Follow journalists and researchers who cover migration seriously, not just during political crises. Question simple narratives: migration policy involves trade-offs, competing interests, and unintended consequences. Attend public consultations when they occur. And remember that migration policy affects your neighbours, coworkers, and community members in ways that may not be immediately visible. Most importantly, understand that when we undermine migrants’ rights, we ultimately undermine everyone’s rights: restrictive measures targeting some inevitably end up affecting our entire society. Engaging meaningfully requires sustained attention, not just reactions to headlines.
Are there specific perspectives or resources you think are helpful in developing a better understanding of issues in Canada’s current migration system?
Migrants contribute enormously to Canadian society, yet their presence is often made invisible and their voices absent from policy debates. This is why I recommend engaging with work produced by migrant-led organizations such as the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, the Migrant Rights Network, or The Neighbourhood Organization (TNO). For rigorous analysis bridging research and advocacy, l’Observatoire pour la justice migrante offers accessible resources in French. Lawyer associations such as the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers and l’AQAADI offer legal expertise. For journalism, The Tyee, La Converse, and The Conversation cover migration issues with a human-centered approach. Beyond academic centers, these are excellent entry points for the public.
