Last week's court ruling regarding the method of staking mineral claims on unsurrendered aboriginal land presents an opportunity, says Opposition Leader Liz Hanson.

Hanson said in a news release Wednesday that Premier Darrell Pasloski should use the Yukon Court of Appeal decision to undertake a territory-wide review of the free entry system for staking claims.

The current system, said Hanson, is old and outdated.

It's time to modernize legislation pertaining to mineral staking, and not just in the context of aboriginal rights and title, but with regard to all concerns of the day, including the appropriateness of staking within municipal boundaries, Hanson said.

"The government now has an opportunity to engage all Yukon people in a dialogue and decision-making process on how mineral exploration can occur in a manner consistent with modern views of land ownership and conservation as well as economic, cultural, and heritage land values.”

In a ruling released last week, the three judges of the appeal court said there is a duty to consult the Ross River Dena Council before a mineral claim is staked, and subsequently registered by the mining recorder.

The court suggested the government may even have to rewrite its Quartz Mining Act, so it has suspended the effect of the decision for one year to provide the government with time to make adjustments.

As one of three Yukon First Nations in the Yukon without an aboriginal land claim settlement, Ross River sued the Yukon government for allowing mineral staking in its traditional territory without consulting the First Nation.

Justice Ron Veale of the Yukon Supreme Court ruled in the fall of 2011 there is indeed a duty to consult.

Veale, however, found that duty could be fulfilled by the government notifying Ross River that a claim had been staked within its traditional territory after it has been staked.

Ross River appealed, claiming notification after the fact did not fulfill the duty to consult as enshrined by the Supreme Court of Canada.

The Yukon government also appealed Veale's decision, maintaining the judge erred in finding that staking a claim required a duty to consult.

Lawyers for the government and the Yukon Chamber of Mines argued that requiring consultation prior to staking mineral claims was unworkable.

Confidentiality and secrecy, they said, were fundamental to the success of the mineral exploration industry.

The Court of Appeal, however, found that staking a claim, then doing work at a level not requiring permits, was a potential infringement on aboriginal rights, and did trigger a duty to consult before anything occurred.

The New Democrats, the Yukon Conservation Society and others have been calling for a review of the Yukon's system of staking and recording quartz mineral claims.

In these times of heightened environmental awareness and the potential for land use conflict, a wide open, free entry system that allows staking anywhere and everywhere may no longer be appropriate, many have argued.

Hanson said in her press release she hopes the government does not waste money trying to appeal last week's decision, but rather focuses its efforts on going forward with a public discussion surrounding the free entry system.

"By opening a dialogue, the Yukon government can balance expectations for a sustainable mining industry in Yukon with the expectation of Yukoners that the decisions made about where and when mining occurs, including exploration activities, are made in a 21st-century context,” Hanson said.

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