Northwest Territories and Nunavut WSCC Appeals
The dates that govern a WSCC claim in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Free. No email required. For anyone injured at work.
The Northwest Territories and Nunavut share one commission, one Review Committee and one Appeals Tribunal. They also share something no other jurisdiction in Canada has, and it changes how much the record matters.
There is no judicial review here. The legislation currently provides no judicial review of WSCC and Appeals Tribunal decisions. Courts cannot re-examine the merits of your case.
Challenges are limited to a denial of natural justice or an excess of jurisdiction, which means arguing the process was unfair or the tribunal went beyond its powers. Not that it got the facts wrong. Everywhere else in Canada a court sits behind the tribunal. Here the Appeals Tribunal really is the end.
What that means in practice
Two levels, and then nothing. The Review Committee, which sits inside WSCC and can maintain, reverse or change your case manager's decision. Then the Appeals Tribunal, which is independent of WSCC and is the final word.
So get everything in before the first level, not after it. WSCC's own advice is to make sure all relevant information is in your file before you pursue a review, because a review takes time and works from what is there.
The tribunal normally sits as a single member, though the chairperson can appoint a panel of three. You can ask for a written hearing or an in person one, and it will usually schedule the type you request.
Get your claim file, and get it early
You are entitled to a copy at any time. Ask in writing using the Request for Disclosure form, send it to your case manager, and WSCC emails a link to a PDF.
Where there is no court behind the tribunal, the file is not a formality. It is the entire basis on which the only two decisions available to you will be made.
Who helps you for free, and how well
The Workers' Advisor Office, which is the only workers' advisor office in Canada covering two jurisdictions. It is free, it will obtain your WSCC file on your behalf, and it will come to the appeal with you to explain your case.
Their own numbers make the case better than we can. In 2024, ninety three percent of the files they resolved were sorted out without entering a formal review or appeal at all.
Of the twelve Review Committee decisions they did receive that year, all twelve went in the worker's favour.
They will take a first call at any stage, including before you have filled in the claim forms. Which given that ninety three percent figure is the single most useful thing on this page.
They can also decline. If there are no grounds to take a case further, for example where there is no objective medical evidence or no statutory entitlement, they will say so after reviewing the file. That is worth knowing rather than taking as a rejection.
Two things specific to the North
The Right of Election. If your employer operates in the Northwest Territories or Nunavut and sends you to work elsewhere for less than six months, you can choose whether to claim in the jurisdiction where the incident happened or back here. That is a real choice with real consequences, and it is worth advice before you make it.
You are paid to attend. If WSCC asks you to do something, such as see a doctor, you receive pay for the time away from work and related expenses including travel. In territories where a medical appointment can mean a flight, keep every receipt.
There is also something called Additional Compensation, which a worker requests through their case manager and which requires approval at vice president level. Ask about it rather than waiting to be offered it.
Can you sue instead?
No. WSCC pays benefits to workers who suffer workplace injuries and diseases, and legal action is not an option. Combined with the absence of judicial review, that makes the two levels above the whole of what exists.
Were you injured in a vehicle while working?
Then the road accident side applies as well, and it works differently in the North than the rest of Canada. Our territories car accident page explains why the two year limitation rule published everywhere else may not be yours.
Last verified: July 2026
Checked against: WSCC claims questions for workers, the Workers' Advisor Office for the Northwest Territories and Nunavut and its 2024 annual report, and the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Workers' Compensation Appeals Tribunal.
We publish no day counts on this page. WSCC does not state the time limits for requesting a review or filing an appeal plainly enough for us to be confident, and after finding published deadlines wrong in four other provinces we will not guess at them. Ask WSCC or the Workers' Advisor Office for your own dates in writing, and treat every decision letter as urgent until you have them.
If you know these limits, write to Recovery@hurtsquare.ca and we will add them and credit the source.
Appeals Tribunal
NWT and Nunavut Workers' Compensation Appeals Tribunal
Suite 1002, Precambrian Building, 4920 52nd Street, Yellowknife
867-669-4420
Toll free 1-888-777-8167
Keeping the record these decisions depend on
There is no court behind the tribunal here. Two decisions, made on paper, and then it is settled. That puts more weight on your own record than anywhere else in the country.
Two things decide how an injury claim goes. What you wrote down and whether you did the right thing at the right time for where you live. The National Recovery Guide handles the first, the daily record of symptoms, appointments, calls and costs that a claim is eventually judged on. The Provincial Companion Guide handles the second, the deadlines on this page and the forms, boards and appeal routes behind them. People who have only one tend to end up with a careful record aimed at the wrong process, or the right dates and nothing to put in front of them.
Your Recovery. Documented. Protected.
See the Workplace Injury Companion Guides
This page is general information for people in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. It is not legal or medical advice. Rules differ by jurisdiction and change over time. Confirm anything specific to your situation with the Workers' Advisor Office or WSCC.