The Prospectors Association of the Yukon says the government's proposal to amend mining legislation is unacceptable.

Association president Mike Power said Thursday the association sent a letter Wednesday to the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources noting its objection.

The proposed changes will affect prospectors in the Yukon more than anybody. Yet the government never talked to the association prior to announcing the proposed amendments Monday, despite a request from the association, Power said.

He said now that the government has announced its intent, there's a 60-day public consultation period but there's only one option on the table – one which will seriously affect the livelihoods of prospectors.

"We are looking at a big steamroller coming at us here,” said Power.

He said if the government agrees to stop the clock on the 60 days and consider other options to be discussed, the prospectors will gladly participate.

As it is, Power said, the government is using doublespeak to couch its proposal, so that it doesn't look like a whole new permitting regime.

The government is saying notification will now be required to First Nations for all levels of exploration activity conducted on a mineral claims, he said.

Power said what the government is really advancing is an entirely new system of permitting everything a prospector does, from pitching a tent to digging a hole for an outhouse.

"If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it's probably a duck,” he said.

"You'll even need a permit to clear a trail from your tent to the outhouse!”

Wednesday's letter to the department clearly states the proposal is a non-starter for prospectors, Power said.

He said he was scheduled to meet Thursday afternoon with those in the industry for more discussions on the matter.

Government officials said Monday changes to legislation are required to conform with the Dec. 27, 2012 decision by the Yukon Court of Appeal regarding the duty to consult the Ross River Dena Council about exploration activity.

Power said the association smelled something brewing as far back at last November. That's when the government indicated in discussions about the Peel River watershed that it wanted to take a look at class one exploration activity.

It wrote a letter seeking clarification from Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Brad Cathers but received no reply, he said.

After the Dec. 27 court decision, the prospectors wrote another letter last January.

It requested the government appeal the court's ruling that there was a duty to consult First Nations before staking a mineral claim, and before any work was carried out.

The Yukon government has asked the Supreme Court of Canada to hear an appeal on the decision that First Nations must be consulted before a mineral claim is recorded.

It accepted the Court of Appeal's finding that consultation was required before work is allowed that could affect aboriginal rights and title.

The Supreme Court of Canada has not yet decided if it will hear the appeal.

Power said the prospectors association has been meeting for the last month to discuss the class one exploration issue, to explore options that would accommodate everybody's interests.

It requested another meeting with Energy, Mines and Resources a week ago Wednesday, before Monday's announcement, but heard nothing back, he said.

In its announcement Monday, the government said it needed to move quickly on the proposed amendments if it wanted to prepare new legislation for the fall sitting of the legislature.

The Court of Appeal suspended its decision for one year until this coming Dec. 27 to give the Yukon government time to bring its legislation into compliance with the court ruling.

Currently, a company or individual can stake a mineral claim and have it recorded by the mining recorder, without telling anybody.

Under class one exploration, a claim holder is able to conduct a range of activities on the claim without telling anybody, whether it's collecting soil samples or doing more substantial work, such as using heavy equipment or explosives.

Classes two, three and four exploration work require a review by the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board.

The government's proposal released Monday would require claim holders to notify the government of any planned activity on the claim. The government would have 25 days to respond, or extend the time for a response.

Power reiterated the proposal would require a prospector to notify the government if he planned to pitch a tent just to collect soil samples. If the prospector turned up something positive, and wanted to expand his level of exploration, perhaps dig a hole or do some trenching, he'd have to file another notification and wait another 25 days to get another "permit,” Power said.

He said if the prospector finds something promising on the edge of his claim, and wants to stake a adjacent mineral claim, and collect some soil from the new claim, he'd have to get another permit.

If the government's proposal goes forward, prospectors in the Yukon will become second-class citizens, said Power, with absolutely no kidding in his voice.

Prospectors, he emphasized, would have to get a permit to pitch a tent.

Wilderness hikers are allowed to pitch a tent and stay in one spot for up to 50 days, without a permit or any notification, he pointed out.

Powers said trappers don't need a permit for an outhouse.

The cross country ski club can build 25 kilometres of new trail without a permit, he said. (Land use regulations in the Yukon allow anybody to establish trails in the Yukon, providing they're no wider than 1.5 metres, or 4.9 feet.)

Power said there is no question the proposed amendments would affect the availability of investment for prospectors.

"We have been steamrolled here by Energy, Mines and Resources,” Power insisted. "The prospectors association has not been consulted in any way, shape or form.”

The Court of Appeal decision arose out of an earlier decision by Justice Ron Veale of the Yukon Supreme Court.

In 2011, the Ross River Dena Council filed a court action against the Yukon government.

It maintained the government has a legal obligation to consult the First Nation before any mineral claims are staked inside its traditional territory.

Veale agreed there was a duty to consult, but ruled the duty could be fulfilled by notifying Ross River after the claim had been registered and recorded.

Ross River appealed the Yukon Court of Appeal, arguing the duty to consult existed prior to the claim being staked.

The government appealed the finding that the duty even existed.

The three judges of the Court of Appeal heard the matter last November, and handed down their decision last Dec. 27.

They found there was a duty to consult before a claim was staked.

The judges also said because class one exploration activity allowed for work to be conducted that could affect Ross River's aboriginal rights and title, class one exploration was therefore subject to the duty to consult prior to any work being carried out.

The Ross River Dena Council, one of three Yukon First Nations without an aboriginal land claim settlement, maintains it has unsurrendered aboriginal rights and title to the 63,000 square kilometres which make up its traditional territory.

Some legal authorities have said the Court of Appeal decision sets a precedent for the entire Yukon, and perhaps even beyond.

The proposed amendments will apply to both the Quartz Mining Act and the Placer Mining Act, across the territory, officials explained Monday.

The comment deadline is July 31.

See related story.