Consent is a conversation, not a form

Consent requires an understandable, voluntary, and continuing choice, not merely a signed form. Using a hypothetical interview about winter conditions, this essay separates participation from permission to publish recordings, locations, or quotations. Canada's TCPS 2 consent guidance informs discussion of explanation, power relationships, recruitment, compensation, and meaningful refusal, while remaining a specific policy rather than a universal legal rule. The National Inuit Strategy on Research helps distinguish individual consent, institutional approval, and collective authority without prescribing local arrangements. Changed projects and new uses may require renewed permission, and withdrawal limits must be explained before participation. The practical conclusion is operational: clear responsibilities, private records, and usable routes to pause, revise, or decline should continue after documentation has been completed.