NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area, Sahtu Settlement Area, Dehcho Region, North Slave Region, South Slave Region, Qikiqtaaluk Region

Tags: housing, government land policy, government land regulation

Objective(s): To fill in a literature gap describing government land policy, legislation and regulations in the Northwest Territories historically, and further aims to answer the following questions: - What has been the impact of government land legislation, regulation and policy on housing in the NWT? - How has government land policy in the NWT evolved over time, and why? - Has the devolution of lands and resources from the federal government to the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) (2014) impacted residential land users in the NWT? - How has government land policy in the NWT impacted residents' access to housing?

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No. 5683. The study aims to fill in a literature gap describing government land policy, legislation and regulations in the Northwest Territories historically, and further aims to answer the following questions: - What has been the impact of government land legislation, regulation and policy on housing in the NWT? - How has government land policy in the NWT evolved over time, and why? - Has the devolution of lands and resources from the federal government to the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) (2014) impacted residential land users in the NWT? - How has government land policy in the NWT impacted residents' access to housing? 1) Conduct archival, primary and secondary research of government documents/decisions, to develop history of land policy in the NWT. 2) Conduct quantitative research using descriptive methods to describe and evaluate data including the numbers of residential leases issued by year and by region/community, average lease pricing, average property assessment values compared between leased and fee simple title land, etc. While some of this information is already public, in other cases information will need to be sought from the territorial and federal governments. Any information requests will clarify that no personal information of land users/leaseholders is being requested, with the goal of expediting the request process. 3) Conduct qualitative research in the form of semi-structured interviews with stakeholders to hear perspectives on the impacts of government land policy in the territory. Interview responses will be coded to understand themes. Initial outreach has been made with the NWT Association of Communities (NWTAC) to advise of the project and seek input. NWTAC will receive email updates throughout the project given their potential interest in the subject matter. Potential interviewees will consist solely of public servants or leaders in various levels of government, providing input relevant to their position. Interviewees will be contacted by email with information about the study and informed consent. Interviewees will receive updates by email as the study progresses, and interviewees as well as NWTAC will receive a copy of the final report for their information. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from: October 01 - December 08, 2023