BRITISH government plans to end Troubles' investigations will "rob people of any hope of justice".
Naomi Long also branded the Westminster government's narrative around the issue as "toxic".
Under controversial proposals revealed by Secretary of State Brandon Lewis, the government intends to introduce a statute of limitations, a de-facto amnesty, for Troubles-related incidents.
It also plans to end conflict-related civil proceedings and inquests.
The contentious blueprint has been met with cross-community opposition.
The justice minister believes a complete end to Troubles investigations is not the way forward.
"There should be full investigation of all of the cases that were in the Troubles, I don't think that pulling the shutters down on justice is the answer," she said.
"All of the international evidence suggests that when you do that you make the trauma that the victims have gone through even worse.
"We have seen families that have to fight for years and years to get the victims exonerated of guilt in their own deaths.
"That trauma of people like the Ballymurphy families has been enormous and a huge burden and the fact that it has taken so long has really compounded that grief."
Mr Lewis told MPs in July that while his government knows "the prospect of the end of criminal prosecutions will be difficult for some to accept" it had "come to the view that this is the best and only way to facilitate an effective information retrieval and provision process, and the best way to help Northern Ireland move further along the road to reconciliation".
Alternative Tory proposals include a new independent body to focus on the recovery and provision of information about Troubles-related deaths and most serious injuries.
Ms Long is critical of the British government's take.
"The narrative that the government are using around this is toxic in terms of both community relations in Northern Ireland but also in terms of respect for the rule of law in the current day," she said.
"If people cannot rely on justice in the present to take these issue forward based on the evidence then how will that impact on their confidence in the justice system today on other things, current crime for example."
Although at odds with the proposals, Ms Long also believes the arrangements for examining the past are not adequate.
"When it comes to the justice system I have been really honest in saying I don't believe that the modern justice system as it stands is equipped with the resources it needs to deal with legacy," she said.
"It is a massive draw on our resources in terms of dealing with historic investigations, historic litigation, legacy litigation, it takes up a huge amount of resource in terms of what the ombudsman can do.
"And as a result of all of that, it's a constant tension of policing the present and policing the past with justice in the present and justice and legacy cases.
"We need a comprehensive way forward."
She believes the arrangements agreed in the 2014 Stormont House Agreement, which have never been implemented, offer the best opportunity for a solution.
"This is not going to be an easy issue, the government's proposals are easy to oppose but finding a new way forward is much more complicated," she said.
"I don't believe Stormont House should be off the table. But look, if there are tweaks that can be made, if there are changes that can be made, I'm not aware of any party that has said that they won't consider that."
Ms Long said her department has been in direct contact with the British government about its concerns and the implications for the justice system overall.
"My own department have been very clear with government of the challenges of what their proposals would actually present - just in terms of the operation of the justice system," she said.
"We have been very candid with government that that would be extremely challenging to implement and they need to think very carefully about what they are intending to do because the ramifications for justice more generally are significant."
She added that she has spoken with victims groups and that some of the political parties have been in discussions.
She added those opposed to the proposals "now need to come together and find an alternative way forward".
"If we don't present the government with a viable alternative they will use our lack of cohesion as an excuse for continuing what they are doing at the moment," she said.
"They will say, 'well, they couldn't agree anything else, so this is all that's left'."
The Northern Ireland Office said the current system for addressing the past is not working well for anybody, most importantly victims and survivors.
"It is delivering neither justice nor information to the vast majority of families," it said.
"Obtaining information, through thorough and robust investigations, is the cornerstone of the government's proposals. This would be conducted by an independent body and supported by full disclosure by the state."
