Pesticide licence in the Northwest Territories: application and business permits

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The sources are the Pesticide Act and the Pesticide Regulations, as office consolidations by the Northwest Territories Department of Justice, and the Department of Environment and Climate Change permit page. The Regulations consolidation read is marked in force September 14, 2009 and says it is not an official statement of the law. The Regulations set no certification exam or class system; they provide for permits issued by an inspector. The parent page, pesticide licences by country, has the national background.

At a glance

Item	What the sources say
Agency	Department of Environment and Climate Change, Regulatory and Permitting Division; permits are issued by an inspector
Credentials	Pesticide application permit; pesticide business permit
Category for trees and turf	None; the permits cover non-domestic pesticides in general
Exam	None in the Regulations; an inspector may require a training course acceptable to the inspector and proof of being qualified
Fees	CA$0 for both permits, as the department page showed on October 9, 2026
Term	One year, or a shorter period endorsed on the permit
Insurance	Public liability insurance of not less than CA$1,000,000 may be required
Penalty	Fine up to CA$1,000, imprisonment up to 90 days, or both

What needs a permit

Section 2 of the Pesticide Act says no person may apply a pesticide on an open body of water or on any other area of the Territories without a permit from an inspector. Section 6 says no person may run a business or provide a service involving the use or application of a pesticide, or apply or offer to apply one for hire or reward, without a permit. The Regulations carve out an exempt class: pesticides classified and labelled as domestic under the federal Pest Control Products Regulations, and several named uses such as cleansers, disinfectants, fabric softeners and swimming pool algaecides. Anything classed as restricted is not in the exempt class.

Who the department says needs which permit

The department's pesticide permit page says an application permit is for a person who owns or operates a facility where pesticides will be applied. It says a business permit is for a pest control company planning structural pest control operations, or a vegetation control company hired by a company that holds a valid application permit. Both show a cost of CA$0, and application permits are valid for up to a year. For application permits, first-time applications go through a preliminary screening under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act. Applications go to the Regulatory and Permitting Division in Yellowknife.

What the application must show

According to sections 2 and 3 of the Pesticide Regulations, an application permit request carries a map of where the pesticide will go, the purpose, product name and pest control product number, total quantity, rate, number and frequency of applications, equipment and method, a plan for surplus and containers, and proof of payment of any workers' compensation assessment. Before issuing, an inspector may require proof that the applicant and each applicator are qualified, a course of training acceptable to the inspector, public liability insurance of not less than CA$1,000,000, and an undertaking to notify the public of the time and place. For aerial work the inspector may require a commercial pilot's licence and a Class 7 specialty commercial air service licence. A business permit request lists the premises and storage method, products to be stored and a certificate of good standing for a corporation, and the inspector may ask for the same training and insurance proof.

Conditions, reporting and penalties

Under the Regulations a permit is cancelled automatically if the required insurance ends or the holder does not pay a workers' compensation assessment. Application permit holders give a safety inspector at least seven days' notice of the application date, tell the local fire department and the Chief Public Health Officer in writing where pesticides are held, report observed toxic effects on other life, and file a report within 10 days after the permit ends. Business permit holders file a monthly report within 10 days of month end. Lost, stolen or spilled pesticide is reported to an inspector, and the Regulations name a 24-hour spill line. Section 9 of the Act sets the penalty at a fine up to CA$1,000, imprisonment up to 90 days, or both.