Guide to Research in the Northwest Territories

Obtaining a Licence¶

About the Aurora Research Institute¶

• Licensing and coordinating research in accordance with the NWT Scientists Act;
• promoting communication between researchers and the people of the communities in which they work;
• promoting public awareness of the importance of science, technology and indigenous knowledge;
• fostering a scientific community within the NWT which recognizes and uses the traditional knowledge of northern aboriginal peoples;
• making scientific and traditional knowledge available to people of the NWT; and
• supporting or conducting research which contributes to the social, cultural and economic prosperity of the people of the NWT.
  

Licensing Your Research¶

• If your research will involve studies on any species of terrestrial vertebrates then view the information for Wildlife Research Permit;
• If your research will involve studies in archaeology then view the information for Archaeologists Permit;
• Research that does not fall under the Wildlife or Archaeologist legislation requires a Scientific Research Licence which is administered by our organization in Inuvik.
• If your research will involve forestry, health, contaminants, fisheries or National Parks you will need a Scientific Research Licence but there may be other specific requirements. See the Research Licence Special Topics section for more information on those requirements.
• If your research takes place in the Yukon or Nunavut please view our Research Licence Special Topics section for more information to assist you.
  

Wildlife Research Permit¶

Archaeologists Permit¶

Scientific Research Licence¶

To apply for a Scientific Research Licence¶

• Ensure that your research location is within the NWT. If your research is to also take place in Nunavut or Yukon, in addition to the NWT, you will have to apply to the research institutes located there also (see Special Topics section for contact information).
• Determine in which land claim area(s) you will be working in.
• Start your online application by logging into our Portal to Online Licensing Applications for Research (POLAR).
• Submit the $158.00 application processing fee to Aurora Research Institute. Payments must be in Canadian funds. Payment can be made by cheque or credit card. Cheques should be made payable to Aurora Research Institute.
  

About the Online System¶

• The application system allows you to register, input your application, make changes, and sign off and back on again when convenient.
• Applications will take between one and three months to process depending upon the region(s) you are working in. This is largely due to the variable response time from the various community organizations as a result of people traveling or being out on the land. It is best to be proactive and apply early.
• Once there is an application on the system, future applications can be created using a previous application as a template.
  

Online Application Process¶

1. Once you have created an account on the system, you will prompted on how to complete your application.
2. If you already have an electronic copy of your application or of documents that you will be using to construct your application, it will be easy for you to copy and paste the relevant pieces into the online form.
3. The online form has a facility for including attachments such as maps, ethics reviews, community consultation records, or other supporting documents. (Note that maps should be kept smaller than 2 MB).
4. Please keep the text sections as relatively brief summaries (approximately 200 words or less) and keep the “objectives” and “methods and activities” sections as plain-language as possible; you can add details as attachments. This keeps the application itself streamlined for an easier review by the communities.
5. Once submitted the application fields becomes "locked" while the application is reviewed by the Manager, Scientific Services. If there are questions that need answering before it can be accepted, those questions are sent to you and the application goes back into "unlock" mode for you to edit.
   

Community Consultation¶

• NWT Aboriginal Government Directory
• NWT Métis Local Directory
  

Reports on Licensed Research¶

Research in the North¶

Community Consultation¶

1. How are you obtaining informed consent from participants in the study? You are required to submit a copy of any consent form that you will be using.
2. How will participant confidentiality be maintained in your research?
3. Long- and short-term use and storage of data collected from participants.
4. How will your research be reported to participants and the community?
5. Whether you have applied for an ethics review and, if so, by whom.
   

Ethical Principles for Conducting Research¶

Involving Northern Residents in Research Projects¶

Research Licence Special Topics¶

Contaminant-related Research¶

Health-related Research¶

Research Involving Fisheries or Marine Mammals¶

National Parks and Historic Sites Research Permits¶

Forestry-related Research¶

Research in Nunavut¶

• Wildlife Research licenced under the Nunavut Wildlife Act (NRI does not licence studies on terrestrial and marine mammals and birds).
• Archeological Research covered under the Archeological Sites Regulations of the Nunavut Act
• Research in National Parks covered under the National Park Research/Collection Permit.
• Fisheries Research licenced under section 52 of the Fisheries (General) Regulations under the Fisheries Act. A licence is required to collect fish (all aquatic organisms, including plants and phytoplankton) for scientific purposes.
  

Research in the Yukon¶

Land Claim Regions¶

Northwest
Territories

Inuvialuit Settlement Region¶

Inuvialuit
Settlement
Region

Crown and Private Lands (including National Parks)¶

• If an application requires screening by the EISC, neither the ILA nor ARI will require further community consultations (because the EISC will do it).
• If an application does not require screening by the EISC, but does require an ILA land use permit, then ARI will not require further community consultations (because the ILA will do it). The Wildlife Management Advisory Council (WMAC), the Fisheries Joint Management Committee (FJMC), and the Inuvialuit Game Council (IGC) still want to be notified of projects that do not require screening (because the EISC ordinarily notifies them for projects to be screened).
• If an application does not require EISC screening (or already has multi-year approval) and does not require an ILA land use permit, then ARI will require community consultations.
• EISC screening is usually triggered under the following circumstances: research that is government funded, research that needs a land use permit, or research leading to non-renewable resource development.
  

Community Consultation¶

Gwich'in Settlement Area¶

Gwich'in
Settlement
Area

Crown Lands¶

Gwich'in Private Lands¶

Community Consultation¶

Sahtu Settlement Area¶

Sahtu Settlement Area

Sahtu Crown and Private Lands¶

Community Consultation¶

North Slave Region¶

North Slave Region

North Slave Lands¶

Community Consultation¶

Regions Where Land Claims are Presently Under Negotiation¶

Deh Cho¶

Deh Cho Region

South Slave¶

South Slave Region

Support for Researchers¶

Aurora Research Facilities¶

Polar Continental Shelf Project (PCSP)¶

Field Stations¶

Appendices¶

Scientists Act¶

Other Licences and Permits¶

Customs¶

Department of National Defence (DND) Sites - Access Permission¶

Export Permit¶

Field Work on Federal Crown Lands Longer than 100 Person Days - Land Use Permit¶

Field Work on Territorial Lands - Land Use Permit¶

Firearm Acquisition Certificate (FAC)¶

Radio Permit¶