Kim Melton hands over a petition opposing the Conservatives' proposed crime bill at Yukon MP Ryan Leef's office Friday. (CBC)

A group of Yukoners joined people across Canada Friday in protesting Bill C-10, the Safer Streets and Communities Act.

About 25 people gathered outside the office of Yukon MP Ryan Leef to show their displeasure with the bill. It proposes, among other things, higher maximum sentences for some crimes and the elimination of house arrest

Kim Melton, who is organizing the Whitehorse action, is one of 60,000 members of Leadnow, a new online independent advocacy group that opposes the Harper government's tough stance on crime.

Leadnow executive director Jamie Biggar said the campaign mushroomed via social media.

“We just sent a call out for these actions for volunteers to step up and take a lead in their communities and it's been really inspiring to watch just over the course of a couple of days. All these actions were organized by local folks.”

Organizers of the protest in Whitehorse say the bill is bad for the Yukon and the North.

Melton said she opposes provisions for mandatory sentences for many crimes as they'll remove judges' ability to do their jobs, and will target society's most vulnerable citizens for more jail time.

“Taking people out of their communities and putting them into a prison system somewhere else as opposed to putting money into restorative justice programs, community justice programs, crime prevention, education,” said Melton. “There's so many ways that we can address this issue without building more prisons.”

Leef was not in Whitehorse to meet with the Yukon protesters, however his staff did welcome them into his office and accepted a national 30,000-signature petition against Bill C-10 on his behalf.