This article examines the strategies employed by the Quebec government with respect to anti-racism work. These strategies are based on the hypothesis that racism is simply a barrier to the integration of visible minorities in the host society. This eclipses the underlying social problems associated with racism. As a result, the author argues that governmental action in this domain remains of limited reach. The tools at the state’s disposal target individual manifestations of racism, rather than the real problem : institutional racism. The author claims that an open debate is needed to better focus the actions of the state for addressing this problem. State intervention must account for historical, as well as political and economic factors that explain racism ; it must also take into account the effects of international conflicts on community relations in Quebec.