The Peter A. Allard School of Law Executive Learning Program in Mining Law and Sustainability

This course is part of the Peter A. Allard School of Law Executive Learning Program in Mining Law and Sustainability program.

Mining in Canada and internationally is affected by complex legal and regulatory instruments that govern sustainable mining practices.

Allard’s Executive Learning Program in Mining Law and Sustainability provides an overview of these instruments, and offers a new framework for making sustainable mining and business decisions: one that goes beyond business as usual to consider Indigenous participation, climate change, human rights and anti-corruption laws and regulations that advance sustainable mining.

The program also offers rigorous cultural competency training to equip those in the mining industry in Canada to engage in respectful and empowering consultation processes with Indigenous peoples impacted by extraction industry projects.

By the end of this program, you will have the skills to contribute to the success of current and future mining industry and extractive industry projects with an understanding of:

• today’s complex legal and regulatory instruments that affect the business operations of mines in Canada and internationally
• the participation of Indigenous peoples in the Canadian and global mining industries, including Indigenous law and governance
• the role of corporate social responsibility, and how CSR has evolved into a discussion of business and human rights
• Canadian anti-corruption legislation and international efforts that affect mining activities
• the role of mining in Canadian and international climate change efforts.

Course outline

The program comprises five online modules over five weeks that follow the business lifecycle of a mine.

Week 1: Introduction to the business of mining and sustainability

Week 2: Introduction to Indigenous peoples, governance, law and FPIC

Week 3: Exploration, land tenure and resource ownership

Week 4: Developing and operating a mine

Week 5: Closing a mine

Read the full program outline

How am I assessed?

This is a pass/fail course without formal grades. Weekly mandatory pass/fail quizzes check for your learning. You also interpret and critique a domestic or international case study to demonstrate your understanding of how Indigenous peoples and sustainable mining and business decisions intersect within the context of the mining industry.

Expected effort

Expect to spend approximately 5–7 hours per week to attend live online lectures and to complete all learning activities and coursework. We suggest you allow a maximum of 10 hours for the case study.

Textbook and technology requirements

All materials are provided in the course and are accessed through the modules. You also have access to a comprehensive online resource library that can be downloaded and saved for use after the course concludes.

To take this course, and for the best experience, we recommend you have access to:

• an email account
• a computer, laptop or tablet
• the latest version of a web browser (or previous major version release)
• a reliable internet connection a video camera and microphone.

Course format

This course is 100% online and instructor supported. Live online sessions are held once a week. Please refer to Available Session below for information. During these sessions, explore course topics in depth with your instructor and visiting experts, participate in Q&As, explore mining industry case studies, and network with your peers. Please note attendance is not mandatory, and any questions or notes can be addressed by your instructor or Program Director. These live sessions are not recorded.

In between sessions, access a rich library of course resources, including video lessons, required and suggested readings, more than 20 videos of interviews with experts, case studies, legislation documents and primary and secondary sources.