PROJECT BACKGROUND

This questionnaire has been prepared by Aram Daniel Kerkonian (the “Researcher”), a doctoral candidate in space law at McGill University's Institute of Air and Space Law.  The Researcher focuses on whether Canada's current regulatory framework related to space is functional for current and future space activities, especially given the rise of commercial space operations.  The title of the research project is "New Law for New Space: Canada's Need for a New Space Regulatory Framework".  The Researcher's academic supervisor is Prof. Ram Jakhu of McGill University's Institute of Air and Space Law.  The Researcher expects to present his research at various conferences, in journal articles and through a final dissertation.  Different from traditional academic research, the final product is intended to provide government decision makers with a comprehensive evaluation of the historical and current realities related to space regulation in Canada, with concrete proposals for how to prepare for future potentialities.

The purpose of this questionnaire is to elicit the current understanding, knowledge, opinions and expertise of industry participants, government representatives and academia with respect to the relationship between Canada's existing space regulatory framework and commercial space activities.  The information provided by you (the “Participant”) will be used to inform the analysis, conclusions, recommendations and proposals made by the Researcher in his doctoral dissertation.  Although the answers provided by Participants will not be the sole information upon which the Researcher makes his analysis, conclusions, recommendations and/or proposals, they will form an integral part of gaining “real world, on the ground” insights from people who, in their everyday lives, interact with space regulatory frameworks and conduct space activities.

Further, although there are no guarantees that the information, insights and opinions provided by Participants will be incorporated into the Researcher’s final product, the Participant’s contributions are expected to have an impact on the structure of the Researcher’s final proposals and recommendations and thus inform the discussions that the Researcher anticipates will take place at the governmental level following the release of the final product.

PARTICIPANT CONSENT

Participants may complete the questionnaire until 15 December 2019, after which the Researcher will no longer accept responses.  This questionnaire will likely take thirty minutes to complete.  Once a Participant has started the questionnaire, they cannot stop and return where they left off - the entire questionnaire would have to be restarted.  Although it is not necessary to answer every question, detailed responses provided by Participants will benefit the Researcher's work.

Participants may, at any time and for any reason, decide to stop completing the questionnaire.  The information provided in the questionnaire will only be received by the Researcher after the Participant has clicked the "Submit" button at the end of the questionnaire - therefore, so long as a Participant does not click "Submit", the Researcher will not be able to view any of the information included in the questionnaire.  If a Participant clicks "Submit" and then later wishes to withdraw the information they have provided, simply contact the Researcher by e-mail at aram.kerkonian@mail.mcgill.ca and the Researcher will not include any of the information provided by the Participant in the research project.  However, if the Participant chooses to withdraw after the research findings have already been published, it may not be possible to withdraw the Participant's data in its entirety.

The Participant’s answers, information, insights and opinions will remain confidential and will not be attributed to the Participant.  Nevertheless, the Researcher requests that Participants identify themselves and their affiliation(s) to contextualise their responses for the Researcher.

The Researcher will store a PDF copy of the Participants’ answers on his local password-protected computer, on a password-protected cloud storage service and in printed hard copy form.  Since this questionnaire is created using Google Forms, it is likely Google will also retain a copy of the Participant’s answers on their servers.  Following the conclusion of the research project, the Researcher and/or the Researcher's academic supervisor will retain copies of the Participant's answers for a minimum of seven years, as mandated by McGill University's research policies.  No one other than the Researcher or the Researcher's academic supervisor will have access to the Participant's data without that Participant's prior permission.

This questionnaire has been approved by McGill University's Research Ethics Board (Record Number 138-0819) for research on, and the collection of data from, human participants.  Funding for this research has been provided by the Erin J.C. Arsenault Fellowship, administered by McGill University’s Institute of Air and Space Law.

If you have any questions regarding the questionnaire or the underlying research, the Researcher can be reached at aram.kerkonian@mail.mcgill.ca.  Alternatively, you may contact the Researcher's academic supervisor, Prof. Ram Jakhu, at ram.jakhu@mcgill.ca.  If you have any ethical concerns or complaints about your participation in this study, and want to speak with someone not on the research team, please contact the McGill Ethics Manager at 514-398-6831 or Deanna Collin at deanna.collin@mcgill.ca.

By completing this questionnaire, you consent to having the information provided in your answers used at the Researcher’s discretion which may include presentations, journal articles, a dissertation or other final product as the Researcher deems appropriate.