In 2002, the Interagency Advisory Panel on Research Ethics (PRE) identified as a priority the development of TCPS guidelines for research involving Aboriginal Peoples, based on respect for Aboriginal knowledge, research modalities, and rights and needs. The Guidelines are intended to replace the existing Section 6 of the TCPS. Accordingly, upon PRE's recommendation, CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC (the Agencies that have conceived and adopted the TCPS) appointed to PRE, in 2003, a member of Aboriginal ancestry to lead the PRE Aboriginal Research Ethics Initiative (AREI).

Under AREI, PRE has developed a framework for advancing the development of TCPS guidelines for research involving Aboriginal Peoples. The framework includes (i) a commitment to building on local, national and international initiatives; (ii) engagement of and partnership with the community; and (iii) application of PRE's First Principles to this initiative. Towards this end, in 2003-04, PRE and its partners developed and then convened a Guiding Consortium for the Development of TCPS Guidelines for Research Involving Aboriginal Peoples. Membership on the Consortium includes PRE, the three Agencies, and five national Aboriginal organizations—the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the Métis National Council (MNC), the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP), and the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC)—as well as representatives from other federal government departments. The Consortium will be assisted by a PRE Technical Advisory Committee on Aboriginal Research (PRE-TACAR), as well as by commissioned research on identified issues.

Activities & Developments