Regulatory power and heterogeneous frames of reference in the mobilization for environmental health in Rouyn-Noranda

Participation in a social movement is a tool for political learning. Thus, in the course of involvement, the people mobilized develop common frames of reference to explain the problems they seek to solve and identify the person(s) responsible. When the movement's frames of reference resonate with those mobilized, and particularly when mobilization is successful, it is expected that these representations will be homogeneous. But what happens when, contrary to our expectations, the frames of reference deployed diverge? This proposal is based on a qualitative case study of environmental health mobilization in Rouyn-Noranda. Using data from 43 interviews conducted between September 2023 and January 2024, I interrogate the formation of referents about the causes of controversy and the targets of mobilization. I am interested in 1) the way participants conceptualize the relationship between the Horne smelter and the Quebec state, and 2) the prioritization of the targets of their discontent. On these two aspects, I note a strong heterogeneity in the participants' discourse. On the basis of this observation, I categorize the referents mobilized, then explore certain mechanisms to explain their heterogeneity.